Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 46:

In page 20, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following:“(26) The Minister shall, by 30 September 2017, lay before the Oireachtas an independent impact assessment on the effects of the Help to buy Scheme on the supply of new homes, house prices and the residential property market.”.

This impact assessment should have been completed before the scheme was implemented. It should assess whether the objectives on the supply of new homes as set out by the Minister are being met, what impact the scheme is having on new and second-hand house prices and what impact the scheme is having generally on the residential property market. I opted for the end of September 2017 because the suggestion of a tax rebate scheme was first mooted this summer, was formally announced in the October budget, has influenced activity in recent weeks, if not recent months, and will be enacted in the coming weeks.