It is presumed that the Deputy is referring to the tax relief available to those who are remotely working from home.
Remote workers will incur certain expenditure in the performance of their duties from home, such as additional heating and electricity costs. An employer may make payments up to €3.20 per day to employees in respect of such expenses and this amount is not subject to deduction of PAYE, PRSI or USC. Where employers avail of this facility, they are not required to advise Revenue and therefore the number of employees reimbursed in this manner is not available. Where employers choose to pay in excess of €3.20, any such excess is subject to deduction of PAYE, PRSI and USC.
Where an employee has qualifying expenses that are not reimbursed by the employer, or where such reimbursement is treated as taxable income (i.e., the above €3.20 per week) the employee may make a claim to Revenue for a deduction from their taxable income in respect of these amounts.
I am advised by Revenue that to-date there have been approximately 80,000 claims for such expenses in relation to 2020, with a tentative figure of 7,500 of these arising from claimants based in Cork City or County. Data are not available for prior years, and data for 2021 will be available once tax returns for 2021 are filed, commencing in early 2022.