Benefit-in-kind is a non-cash benefit given to an employee by an employer. It has a monetary value and is deemed to be a taxable income. There are approximately 150,000 company cars in the country and if those drivers have a benefit-in-kind, the vast majority pay the amount due themselves. In the case of the CEO of Bord na Móna, because the original market value of his car is €130,000, the benefit-in-kind is €22,000. The benefit-in-kind for his health insurance is €9,000. I have no issue with company cars or health insurance but I have an issue with a semi-state company paying the tax on those benefits. For 2022, the cost to Bord na Móna was €64,000 and over a four-year period, the cost was almost €250,000. While the ordinary Joe Soap is paying benefit-of-kind of €60 to €100 per week, it is unacceptable for the company in question to continue to pay the additional amount. I ask for this practice to be reviewed by the Government. While it is legal and proper in that respect, it is unacceptable and should change.

I thank the Deputy. It is certainly a curious arrangement that has raised a number of eyebrows, including my own. I will raise the matter directly with the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform because his is the Department with responsibility for contracts and conditions of employment. Following the Deputy's intervention, I will speak directly to the Minister and ask him to respond.