I welcome the Minister's response but he said that once a house is certified, it will be capable of being mortgaged and insured. The core issue is that the banks cannot give a guarantee that these properties will be capable of being mortgaged. Why is that? It is because the engineers cannot give a guarantee that they will certify the works. That is what is at the very heart of this. It is one year since the scheme was launched. The scheme has seen a tiny number of new applications because there are so many problems…

In the latest Finance Bill the Minister introduced the residential premises rental income relief scheme, which was a tax break for landlords. It will cost €160 million by 2026. It is important to ask whether, in the first instance, this is good value for money for the taxpayer, given its cumulative cost will reach more than €500 million by 2028. Could the Minister, therefore, outline the deadweight costs, which will be substantial in regard to this relief, his views on the equity that arises, and its effectiveness?

This relief, cumulatively, will cost more than €500 million. The Minister said there is an element of deadweight cost. His officials warned him that there would be substantial deadweight elements. They drew comparisons between it and the Celtic tiger tax breaks provided the last time we had a Fianna Fáil Minister for Finance, warning, in their words, that previous experience in the not-too-distant past was that such measures were ultimately disastrous. Those are the words of the Minister's officials. They were clea…

How come all the Minister's officials are wrong and he is right?

The Minister's officials have told him that his €500 million landlord tax break will not fix this problem. It will be ineffective and will primarily go to landlords who have no intention of leaving the system. According to figures from the Revenue, more than 41,000 landlords, which is more than one in four, will pay no income tax on their rental income as a result of the Minister's tax break for landlords. We now have a situation where ordinary workers, be they teachers, gardaí, cleaners or people working on the fa…

This is a tax break of €500 million that should not be given. It is public money and it is not going to have the effect the Minister desires.

No.

I would be able to argue the case.

I am asking the Minister how the officials are wrong. I ask him to explain to me how they are wrong.

No.

The Minister cannot defend his position.

I ask the Minister to explain why his officials are wrong.

This is a €500,000 tax break and he cannot defend it. Not one official supported the Minister's €500,000 tax break, and he cannot defend it.

I ask the Minister to send in his officials. They might be able to explain it.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle agus guím beannachtaí na Féile Bríde uirthi agus ar phobal mór na hÉireann. Inniu arís, chonaiceamar an cultúr a bhí ann in RTÉ faoin iar-ard-stiúrthóir RTÉ agus faoi na rialtais i ndiaidh a cheile. Tá muinín caillte ag an bpobal in RTÉ. Tá sé soiléir gurb é an t-am anois deireadh a chur leis an gceadúnas teilifíse, athchóiriu a dhéanamh ar RTÉ agus é a chur ar bhonn maoiniú inbhuanaithe. Yesterday, we were all given another glimpse, if we needed another one, of the cu…

It is interesting, because I never heard the Tánaiste mutter a word when former colleagues in his parliamentary party – for example, Colm Keaveney, who served with the Tánaiste and sued the media and sued a journalist in the Irish Independent when he was in the parliamentary party. What about Frank O'Rourke, who is suing the media? John O'Donoghue, the former Ceann Comhairle, is suing the media in Kerry. What about former Senator Larry Butler? That is just me Googling in the last five minutes, so do not start this …

That is nonsense. It is the commission that is advocating this.

It is the commission's response.

The commission has recommended it. It is very disingenuous to describe the commission as populist. With respect, stop dithering on it.

The Government is dithering on it. Its members need to talk to each other and come to a decision.