895 Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the assessment, if any, which he has undertaken on the withdrawal of patent relief in the tax code; its costs and benefits for industrial and employment policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1422/11]

The Patent Royalty Exemption has been costed at €50m based on 2008 figures using the initial revenue loss method. A total of 165 companies were claiming the relief in 2008.

The benefits of the exemption included providing an incentive for the commercialisation of R&D, reducing the cost of undertaking R&D for SMEs and removing the competitive disadvantage for SMEs associated with an inability to match the share-based remuneration options provided by many stock exchange listed multinationals.

The Minister for Finance, having regard to the costs arising for the Exchequer and other concerns about the operation of the Exemption, decided to terminate the facility as provided in the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 which also includes a commitment that some of the money raised from abolishing tax expenditures will be redirected to support enterprise.