407. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to a new proposal from an organisation (details supplied); his response to same; if it will be considered ahead of Budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37676/26]

Simon Harris, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance: My Department receives pre-Budget submissions from a wide range of stakeholders in advance of each Budget and all are given consideration as part of the annual policy cycle. The Deputy’s question refers to a proposal for a payable tax credit for pubs, linked to the number of draught product kegs purchased by the business, subject to a cap.

Proposals for new tax expenditures are examined by reference to my Department’s Tax Expenditure Guidelines, which outline the Government’s approach to when tax expenditures are best used, noting that these narrow the tax base, and how they should be evaluated.

In the case of a proposal for a targeted tax incentive, such as the one referred to by the Deputy, consideration of European State aid approval would also be required.

There are a number of existing tax supports available to all businesses, including the on-trade. These are intended to encourage investment in the economy and in particular in indigenous SMEs. These measures provided for by Part 16 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA) include the Employment Investment Incentive (EII) the Start-Up Relief for Entrepreneurs (SURE) and the Start-Up Capital Investment (SCI).

It is worth noting that there has been no general increase in excise duty rates for alcohol since in 2014. While the retail price of beer has risen over that period, the excise duty has remained unchanged and, therefore, the total tax as a percentage of the retail price of each pint is now lower than it was more than a decade ago.

A range of direct expenditure supports are also available to businesses, and details can be found on the National Enterprise Hub at www.neh.gov.ie.

Notwithstanding the above, the matters raised in the submission will continue to inform ongoing policy considerations in the context of the budgetary process.