Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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36. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the Parliamentary Budget Office Report on the Naval Service personnel tax credit; whether he agrees with its conclusion that the credit has failed to achieve its stated policy objectives since being introduced; whether he agrees with its recommendation that instead there should be further increases to the Naval Service's patrol duty allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21361/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Section 472BB of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA 1997) provides that a tax credit, called the Sea-going Naval Personnel Tax Credit (the credit), is available to those who satisfy the qualifying conditions of that section. It was introduced in Finance Act 2019 in recognition of the proportion of their time that naval personnel spend away from the State at sea providing support to the Irish fishing industry, law enforcement and safety at sea; and to recognise the hardships and dangers that its personnel face in those endeavours, and to aid in the recruitment and retention of personnel in the Naval Service. In this regard, it should be noted that comparable tax measures are also in place for fishers and merchant seafarers.

The credit provides a tax credit of €1,500 per annum for permanent members of the Irish Naval Service who have spent at least 80 days at sea in the previous year performing the duties of his or her employment.

As the Deputy will appreciate, remuneration within, and the operations of, the Naval Service are matters for the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence. However, I am advised by his Department that:

"(T)he tax credit is an important incentive which, taken together with a number of other elements, form a suite of measures that have contributed successfully to encourage sea-going activity by our Naval personnel."

His Department further advises me that:

"The measures introduced in 2024 have positively impacted the number of patrol days undertaken in 2024 with an almost 5 per cent increase in the number of patrol days undertaken.”

Finally, and as the Deputy will be aware, tax measures such as the Sea-going Naval Personnel Tax Credit are kept under review by my Department in accordance with the Department of Finance Tax Expenditure Guidelines.