Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not proposed to accept this amendment. There are two elements to the definition of "qualifying residence". The first is that the residence is owned by an individual and is occupied by the individual as his or her principal private residence. The second is that it is a property which has previously been occupied as a residence. Where such a property is acquired for the purposes of occupation by an individual as his or her principal private residence and is occupied on completion of qualifying work, it comes within the definition of a qualifying residence.

The proposed amendment seeks, in the first instance, to bring newly built houses within the incentive. There are a couple of points I will make in this regard. First, the incentive is aimed at repair, renovation or improvement works. The reason for this is to facilitate homeowners in carrying out such works to their homes, while at the same time acting as a stimulus to the construction industry. In general, the only instance in which a newly built house would require works to be carried out would be in the fitting out of such a house to make it habitable. Fitting out is an intrinsic and essential feature of building a new house. Inclusion of that type of work under the incentive would in reality constitute deadweight and would not, in my view, provide added stimulus to the construction industry.

The second part of the proposed amendment seeks to exclude from the home renovation incentive any residence which gets relief under the Living City initiative. This matter is already covered by subsection (12), which stipulates that any expenditure on a residence which is covered by another tax relief is excluded from the terms of the home renovation incentive. In such circumstances, I think we can agree that the Living City initiative is not an issue.

The Deputy referred to a person - perhaps a neighbour or some other constituent - with a disabled child who wants to adapt a room in his house in order to make it suitable.

The aim is to stop people using this scheme to finish off a new house instead of adding to it. However, if somebody buys a house, as described by the Deputy, in the middle of next year and wants to change the garage into a room that is suitable for a wheelchair-bound child, any such works would be eligible for the scheme, provided they do not involve finishing or fitting out a new house in the normal meaning of that term. The scheme is intended to give additionality in construction work. If a house has not been finished, it should have been finished. That is the distinction. With a small time lag, the type of case the Deputy describes would qualify.