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

The system that has been put in place is straightforward. Many thousands of mortgage holders have been in a position to claim this credit so far. Many more are eligible to do so and I encourage them to make their claim. People have up to four years to make the claim, but I expect the number will continue to grow.

The Deputy's fundamental point is the tax credit is not refundable in nature and should have been implemented similar to the previous mortgage interest tax relief, and that is an option I explored with the Revenue Commissioners in the months leading up to the budget last year. I was informed, as the Deputy would equally have been informed, that that was not possible. The system and the IT infrastructure could not support such a system and it would have taken a long time to be developed. That is why we went with the most straightforward system possible to get as much support as we could to those who are eligible.

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