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

I thank the Tánaiste. I like that response and that well-thought-out way of looking at it from the carer's point of view. I am heartened to hear that tax measures as a whole will be reviewed in the course of this Government. I point out, perhaps again, that for many people across Ireland, factors other than choice determine whether or not they have children. If these people own properties and should they wish to pass them on to their close relatives, the low exemption thresholds mean they will be burdening those relatives with large tax bills. Oftentimes, what happens then, as we all know, a family home that people would like to keep in the family needs to be sold. That is against the wishes of the person who has left it and those of the person who is inheriting it. Furthermore, as the Tánaiste is aware, these thresholds last throughout a person's lifetime. This means that if an uncle gives a gift of over €3,000 to their niece or nephew during their lifetime, it is deducted once again from the recipient's inheritance tax threshold at the end of life. With this in mind, would it be possible to amend the rules so that there is a greater exemption for gifts that are given during a person's life?

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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