Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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55. To ask the Minister for Finance the amount of tax relief on the cost of employing a carer that costs the State for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6343/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Section 467 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for tax relief at the marginal rate for expenses incurred by an individual who employs a carer to take care of an incapacitated individual in their own home.

In order to assist those who prefer to source care for such individuals for provision in their own homes and to alleviate the pressure on nursing home beds, I increased the maximum amount of expenditure that qualifies for the relief in the recent Finance Act from €50,000 to €75,000 per annum.

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the cost to the Exchequer of the tax relief available to 'Persons Taking Care of Incapacitated Taxpayer' for the years 2007-2012 (the latest year for which figures are available) is published in the 'Costs of Credits, Allowances and Reliefs' tables on the Revenue Statistics webpage available at