Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 191: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will introduce tax incentives in the Finance Bill to encourage families to use biodegradable nappies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34037/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I can inform the Deputy that children's nappies are not subject to VAT or any other indirect tax. Consequently the option of incentivising the use of specific types of children's nappies such as biodegradable nappies through the tax code does not arise.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 192: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the circumstances where first time buyer stamp duty relief can be provided to persons who purchased a house jointly, but where one of the parties had previously purchased a dwelling as a joint applicant with a third party. [34050/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The stamp duty relief for first time buyers is provided for in section 92B of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 and the term "first time purchaser" is defined in the section. In the definition, a first time purchaser is referred to as a person who has not previously purchased a house or a part of a house or previously built a house on his or her own behalf. In addition, a first time purchaser is a person who has received a gift of a house after 22 June 2000 or received a gift of part of a house after 27 June 2000.

To qualify for relief, the purchaser or purchasers must declare that they have not purchased property previously and that they will occupy the property for at least two years. Where a property is purchased jointly, each purchaser must satisfy the conditions in order to qualify for first-time buyers exemption. This position has existed since the first-time buyers exemption was introduced.

The only exception to this general position is in relation to divorced and separated persons which was most recently addressed in the Finance Act 2007. A person whose marriage is the subject of a decree of divorce, judicial separation, nullity or a deed of separation can be regarded as a first-time purchaser once, and only once, where the person buys another house to live in. The main conditions for this treatment are that the person no longer retains an interest in the former marital home and that following the granting of the decree or the making of the deed of separation, the spouse (or former spouse) of the person occupies the former marital home, as his or her only or main residence. However, the spouse does not necessarily have to still be occupying it at the time when the person, who originally left the marital home, purchases a new home. First-time purchaser relief will be denied to that person, where at the date of the decree or at the date the deed of separation is made, the person has an interest in another house/apartment apart from the former marital home.