Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We opposed this scheme from day one. We were told that it was about increasing supply. I do not know how increasing demand at a time here is no supply will increase supply. It has pushed up house prices. We see this from the analysis. We should remember that the €20,000 that has been collected from some taxpayers has been put into the pockets of other taxpayers. Some 21% of those who claimed this amount were for purchases of properties in excess of €375,000. That is very much at the upper end of income distribution in this State. A person would need a household income of €96,000 to purchase a property at that price, and that is not the income most households earn. We can see from the analysis undertaken by the Parliamentary Budget Office that more than one fifth of the subsidy goes to the upper end. It is grand for the Minister to make statements but the facts do not stack up. A large portion of the €100 million tax break goes to individuals who are purchasing property and who do not need this tax break to get a mortgage to purchase a home. Does the Minister accept that? Does he further accept that it is clear from the figures that a significant amount is going into the pockets of individuals who do not need the money to purchase a home because 41% of them are able to get a mortgage with a loan-to-value ratio of less than 85%? A direct line cannot be drawn that 41% is equal to €41 million but I strongly those who can meet a loan-to-value ratio at that level are likely to be in the higher income brackets, given the prices of property at this point. Does the Minister accept that 41% of successful applications are going to individuals who do not need the money to purchase a property in the first instance?