120 Mr. Collins asked the Minister for Finance when the new tax free allowance limit of ?10,000 in respect of redundancy payments will be implemented under the Finance Act, 2002. [10823/02]

Under section 15 of the Finance Act. 2002, the new figure of €10,000, representing the additional amount by which the basic exemption from income tax may be increased for ex gratia redundancy payments in certain circumstances, applies from 1 January 2002. The Deputy may wish to be aware that the once-off restriction on the availability of the additional amount to an individual is also removed by the Finance Act. This means that in respect of redundancies occurring on or after 1 January 2002, a person made redundant previously may claim the additional amount again in a subsequent redundancy once a period of ten years has elapsed from the previous redundancy.