Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will confirm that the mother of a full-time student cannot claim tax credits regarding their child due to the fact that they are living with but not married to their partner of 23 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36024/06]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 122: To ask the Minister for Finance if it is possible for an unmarried mother to have the tax credits of her partner of 23 years transferred to her; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36025/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 and 122 together.

I assume that when the Deputy refers to "the tax credits regarding their child" he has in mind the question of entitlement to the one-parent family tax credit which is provided for in section 462 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The position is that, subject to the provisions of section 462, where a widowed, deserted, separated or unmarried person has a "qualifying child" resident with him or her for the whole or part of the year, the person shall be entitled to the one-parent family tax credit.

A "qualifying child" means—

(i) a child—

(I) born in the year of assessment,

(II) who, at the commencement of the year of assessment, is under the age of 18 years, or

(III) who, if over the age of 18 years at the commencement of the year of assessment

(A) is receiving full-time instruction at any university, college, school or other educational establishment, or

(B) is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical infirmity from maintaining himself or herself and had become so permanently incapacitated before he or she had attained the age of 21 years or had become so permanently incapacitated after attaining the age of 21 years but while he or she had been in receipt of such full-time instruction; and

(ii) a child who is a child of the claimant or, not being such a child, is in the custody of the claimant and is maintained by the claimant at the claimant's own expense for the whole or part of the year of assessment.

However, the legislation specifically provides that the credit shall not apply in the case of a man and woman living together as man and wife. Accordingly, if the person to whom the Deputy refers in his question falls into this category, no one-parent family tax credit will be due.

On the question of the transfer of tax credits, the position is that there is no provision in the tax code that provides for the transfer of personal tax credits between unmarried partners whether cohabiting or not.