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

The scheme has worked very well, as Deputies have agreed. It was introduced in the first instance not only to improve housing stock, but also to try to get the building industry off the ground. At the time it was introduced, one could travel 100 miles of road without seeing a JCB at work or a bit of scaffolding around a house. The scheme achieved its objectives. I do not see it as a permanent feature of the tax code or incentives to building as the industry is recovering and re-establishing itself now. The scheme was scheduled to finish at the end of 2016. We are letting it go forward for a further two years, but I do not see it as a permanent feature. I am not sure whether the threshold is too high. It may be that people are not aware that a number of jobs can be accumulated over a period to the €5,000 level and that the scheme applies not only to the house, but also the cartilage. The laying of a concrete path down the back of a house or the landscaping of the front are eligible. Three or four jobs can be done to get to the €5,000 limit on the scheme. Maybe the local authorities or the Department need to explain it a little further to people. It depends on payment of income tax as well. While the rebate is calculated on VAT paid, the rebate is the income tax rebate to the level of VAT paid on the work. Maybe in different counties or parts of the country, people do not have the income tax liability to see in the scheme a significant benefit or any benefit.

Regarding local authority houses, again, the implication would be that the tenant in a local authority house is an income taxpayer who can avail of the scheme. However, I can see the incentive from the long delays in many local authorities while people await what would be regarded as necessary home improvements. Separately, there are also energy efficiency grants available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. It would not be possible to draw the two together for the same amount of money. One would not get one's tax rebate on the grant, which stands to reason. A grant can be received for windows and doors as well. I will consider the matter between now and Report Stage. However, if we were disposed to do it, we would need to bring it in at a lower threshold for local authority houses without changing the general threshold. I will have to check if that is sustainable under the tax Acts of differentiating a scheme on threshold levels between different users. On the face of it, there does not seem to be any reason we would not do it that way. Maybe the Deputies could check with their local authorities to find out what their policies would be in terms of rent increases if this were introduced. I do not think there would be massive take-up of it, but it might be significant for a small number of people.