Vol. 576 No. 6
131 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the status of the Government's contribution to SSIA's; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Department of Education and Science is treating it as income rather than as a tax refund as presented in the Exchequer accounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30215/03]
The specific goal of the SSIA scheme is to encourage people to save over a period of at least five years. In order to provide an incentive to save for this period, a 25% top up on savings is provided by the Government. This is equivalent to giving a tax credit at the standard rate of income tax in respect of the amount saved. This is legislated for in section 848D of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.
Issues related to means testing for higher education grants are a matter for the Minister for Education and Science. A reply on the matter was provided by him in a Parliamentary Question on 4 November 2003.
