Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Department and the Housing Agency for sticking with us this late in the evening. At the start, I asked Ms Timmons whether there was consideration of a no-penalty downsizing. If somebody was to get a grant of €160,000 but the full cost of demolition and rebuild was €190,000, it would seem to be reasonable that a person could take the €160,000 and build a smaller home on the same footprint. We thought that would be in the Bill but it is not. Is there a reason it is not? I would be interested to hear that. I would also be interested to hear a little more from Mr. Benson about the pilots for the local authorities and approved housing bodies. They are obviously very important. It would be useful if there were some timelines. At any stage, did the Department look at whether local rates of VAT or whether a VAT exemption would be legally permissible under the VAT rules? Obviously, that is the big question. Correct me if I am wrong, but I would have thought the primary reason for subrogation of the Bill would be to allow the State to recoup costs against its own expenditure, rather than some legal rules. Will Ms Timmons confirm that is the reason?