Tax relief for health insurance premiums is being extended to cover premiums for primary health care, including visits to general practitioners. Relief will be at the standard rate of tax.

The criteria for eligibility of insurance products will be along the lines of those applying to un-reimbursed medical expenses relief, which excludes routine optical and dental treatment.

The tax and stamp duty reliefs for securities issued by Telecom Eireann, arising from the privatisation of Eircom, is ended in the Finance Bill.

The Bill provides for relief from stamp duty on first-time house purchase and exemptions from the 2 per cent anti-speculative property tax in the case of second homes, on certain conditions, where the second home is acquired following a marriage break-up.

VAT at the standard rate is to be applied to research provided for a fee by educational institutions or research bodies, following an approach from the EU Commission.

This is intended to help ensure a level playing field in tendering for research services and will also enable Irish research bodies to reclaim VAT on taxable services provided under EU and other research programmes.

The Bill abolishes the exemption for dividends remitted to an Irish company from its foreign subsidiaries unless the dividends were certified by the Minister for Finance before publication of the Bill.

It also abolishes for new entrants the exemption for foreign branch income and gains tax. These reliefs are seen as no longer necessary for new investment in current economic conditions, the Department of Finance said.

The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said he wanted to give a tax break to people who provide for long-term care. "I want to encourage people to provide for long-term care," he said.

However, he said that at present no suitable financial products were available but it is an area he is looking at.