Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The residential element is not an issue. If somebody with a house built before 1915 wants to refurbish it and live in it then they will be able to avail of the relief for residential properties. That is not an issue.

My point is that this is a major incentive to people who want to renovate their commercial premises without any requirement to refurbish the living quarters. If the Minister of State accepts the merit of houses built before 1915 being refurbished for commercial use being able to avail of the tax incentives, why does he not stipulate that subsection (3) would continue to apply to premises on the main streets in our city centres which have an upper storey? If one is to be true to the meaning of the living city initiative, he would continue to have subsection (3) which states that in the case of a two storey building, the upper storey is refurbished for living quarters. This relief is hugely generous. It has moved completely away from what was originally anticipated in terms of living in the city.

The incentive to get people to come back and live in the city centre entailed the Government offering a significant tax break that would allow people to refurbish the lower part of the building and claim the sum expended over a ten year period. Now the Minister is saying that the incentive in the designated areas in that those with houses built before 1915 no longer have to live in them but can refurbish the basement and ground floor for commercial purposes and claim the expenditure over ten years. That is completely different from what was originally anticipated.