Tax Reliefs
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-10
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

I instinctively agree. I do not mean to be pedantic but the programme for Government says we will consider measures. I take very seriously the programme for Government and we should continue to consider these measures as well. We had it looked at last year in the tax strategy group paper, which is published. The paper said it was not possible to estimate the exact cost of an income tax relief. It said that, conservatively, the measure would have an additional Exchequer cost of the order of €65 million, or if applied to all sports club memberships, about €147 million. There were some concerns about the dead weight in tax, which is there for all to read. I will not waste the time of the House with it now. However, we will keep this under review, and I take the Deputy's point about osteoporosis and the specific health benefits of resistance training.
We have some income tax supports already. I have outlined the VAT and benefit-in-kind measures. There are also a number of other tax and direct expenditure measures. To make long story short, though, I will give consideration to this when the tax strategy papers are compiled again this year. I am happy to engage with the Deputy in advance of the next budget.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-10