Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One has to own the property for five years or one will not get the exemption. This is why the provision is incentivising people to hoard instead of sell. If an owner holds the property for four years then it is better to hold on to it for another 12 months in order to be exempt from the dividend withholding tax when one disposes of the property. If one bought the property in 2014 then one will no longer be able to avail of the exemption because the new provision kicks in on 1 January 2019 and, therefore, the five years would not have elapsed. Is that correct?