More than 100 of the highest earners in the State have built up pension funds in excess of €5 million each, according to figures released by the Government.
This is well in excess of the €5 million cap on pension funds allowable for tax relief introduced by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen in the budget last year.
Details of 116 individuals' pension savings emerged after they were obliged under Mr Cowen's measure to notify the Revenue Commissioners of their pension savings and apply for an exemption from the new tax provisions.
Mr Cowen imposed an immediate freeze on budget day last December on tax relief for contributions to pension funds that were already in excess of the €5 million threshold.
But people already above the threshold were given six months to confirm their position with the Revenue and retain tax relief for which they had previously qualified.
The average value of the tax-free pension funds for 76 people already granted exemption certification by the Revenue is €7.98 million. In addition to these 76 cases, a further 40 individuals have also applied for the exemption and their claims are currently being processed.
Yesterday the Department of Finance said the funds had already been built up before the cap was announced in the 2005 budget. A spokesman said that it could not apply the €5 million cap to those with large funds already built up as it would have been retrospective application of legislation, and could have been legally challenged.
Green Party finance spokesman Dan Boyle, who obtained the figures through a Dáil question, said that because the potential closure of tax loopholes was well flagged, it allowed for wealthy individuals to make large payments into pension funds through their companies in the run-up to the budget and therefore avail of the 42 per cent tax break on them.
Meanwhile, separate figures show that 1,059 people who earned more than €100,000 paid less than 5 per cent tax in 2003.
The figures, released in a Dáil answer to Labour Finance spokeswoman Joan Burton, show that 186 of them paid no tax at all, including four who earned in excess of €1 million each.
Of the 873 who paid tax, but at a rate of 5 per cent or less, 32 people earned more than €1 million each. The figures also show that a total of 14 people who earned between €500,000 and €1 million paid no tax.
See 'Revenue approves pensions of high earners' in Ireland section