Tax Code
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-10
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Catherine Callaghan (FG), Carlow-Kilkenny

I thank the Tánaiste for his answer.
We know - and the Tánaiste knows better than anyone - that over the last number of years Fine Gael has been at the forefront of a changing Ireland where alternative family structures are welcomed and where people do not feel the pressure to confirm to what was once the traditional idea of a family. Fine Gael values personal liberty and it is clearly reflected in the broad liberalisation of Irish attitudes. However, while societal attitudes can naturally evolve over time, laws do not evolve of their own accord. They need political will to bring them up to date. I believe the current inheritance tax is reflective of a different Ireland from the Ireland we live in today. The most recent census data show there are almost 400,000 families without children in Ireland. Therefore, if an individual wishes to leave an inheritance to someone outside their immediate family, as has been mentioned, they are only tax exempt to the first €40,000 of that inheritance while couples in group A benefit from an exemption of ten times that much. With that in mind, how does the Tánaiste intend to work towards bringing our tax system in line with social attitudes and support new family structures by increasing the inheritance tax thresholds for childless individuals?

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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