McCreevy under fire over tax break for clinic

FINANCE Minister Charlie McCreevy controversially introduced a tax break yesterday which will significantly benefit one of his constituents.

The minister's introduction of a loophole granting lucrative tax relief for the building of private hospitals at the request of the developers of a clinic in Co Kildare provoked an angry response from the opposition.

Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte said the last-minute introduction of the tax break, worth hundreds of thousands of euro to the developers, raised serious questions for the Government and Mr McCreevy.