Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 127: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of office holders availing of the terms of section 836 of the Taxes Consolidated Act 1997 which allows tax deductions in regard to the cost of maintaining a second residence in respect of each year since 2002; the amount of tax foregone in each of these years as a result of the allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7813/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Section 836 of the Taxes Consolidation Act provides for a tax deduction under section 114 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 in respect of the cost of maintaining a second residence where, arising out of the performance of his or her duties, a Minister or a Minister of State holder is obliged to maintain that second residence in addition to his or her main residence.

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the estimated costs of such tax deductions in terms of tax foregone for the tax years 2002 to 2007, the most recent year for which statistics are available, are set out as follows.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 128: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on whether the issuance of loans by banks receiving recapitalisation should be made conditional on evidence that building contractors used on the building works are tax compliant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7831/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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There are already measures in place in the tax code in respect of contractors. The Tax Clearance Certificate scheme ensures that persons (residents and non-residents) who derive an economic benefit from a licence/permit to conduct certain activities in the State, and/or receive contracts or payments from the State are in compliance with their tax obligations. Relevant Contract Tax applies to both resident and non-resident contractors and is a tax deduction system whereby a principal contractor deducts tax at 35% from payments to subcontractors for whom the principal contractor does not hold a relevant payments card.

Prior to the introduction of Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT), there were significant difficulties with tax compliance in the construction sector. RCT was introduced in 1970 as a measure to tackle that non-compliance problem, and has been significantly enhanced since then. The construction industry continues to be a focus for Revenue attention, and 25% of its audit and compliance resources were assigned to this sector in 2006 and 2007. Resources are currently assigned based on the identified risks in individual Districts and Regions. It is clear that tax compliance in the construction sector is actively pursued by the Revenue Commissioners and I do not propose at this time to impose additional tax conditions on lending as suggested.