David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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174. To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated full year cost of restoring tax relief for trade union subscriptions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23246/18]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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179. To ask the Minister for Finance the position in relation to tax relief for trade union members on the subscriptions paid to their union; the background to the issue; the estimated cost of changing the system now to reinstate tax relief; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23277/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 174 and 179 together.

A review of the appropriate treatment for tax purposes of trade union subscriptions and professional body fees was carried out by my Department in 2016 and included in the 2016 report on tax expenditures published on Budget day 2016. The review may be found at the following link:

().

The review concluded that:

"...analysis of the scheme using the principles laid down by the Department’s Tax Expenditure Guidelines shows that it fails to reach the evaluation threshold to warrant introduction in this manner.

The reinstatement of this tax relief would have no justifiable policy rationale and does not express a defined policy objective. Given that individuals join trade unions largely for the well-known benefits of membership, and the potential value of the relief to an individual would equate to just over €1 per week, this scheme would have little to no incentive effect on the numbers choosing to join. There is no specific market failure that needs to be addressed by such a scheme, and it would consist largely of deadweight."

Given the conclusions of the review, I have no plans to reintroduce such a relief.

I am advised by Revenue that the cost and the numbers availing of the relief prior to its abolition are available a t .

The table sets out details of the cost of the relief in the seven years immediately prior to its end.

I am further advised by Revenue that these figures may not provide an accurate indicator of future costs of a new scheme and there is no other basis available to Revenue on which to estimate such costs.