Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

However, it could happen. A contractor who wants additional work under the scheme would comply with it. I am not sure about the latest figures for payment of the local property tax but there is always a certain percentage of people who even though they intend to do something do not do so on time. We got clarification that a claim will not be ineligible even when a contractor does not fulfil the criteria of ten working days. The Minister of State referred to a process but no process is laid down in legislation on how a claim can be processed in an appropriate time without a contractor providing the necessary information as set out in subsection (5). There are various reasons why a contractor might not provide the information. He could, for example, go bust or be sick for a period. Given human nature there could be many reasons. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that the person who is entitled to the tax credit would not be denied it because they would already have a number of steps fulfilled. They would have employed a contractor who was tax compliant. Revenue would have approved the works, deemed the property suitable and given a unique identification number and the individual would have provided receipts. On that basis, in the event that a contractor did not follow through the claimant would still be able to have the claim processed in a transparent way within ten working days.

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