Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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269. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will extend the tax relief scheme ceiling rate of €20,000 and €10,000, respectively, for all families who purchased houses in the boom period beyond the seven years up to 2017 as per the 30% rate, as not to do so will cause more families to fall into mortgage difficulties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11712/15]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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270. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a tax relief scheme for persons who took out mortgages in November or December of a current year, where the first year would run to November or December of the following year, hence avoiding the situation whereby householders who take out mortgages at the end of the year lose the whole year in tax relief at source payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11713/15]

Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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274. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will address the tax relief scheme for first time buyers who purchased their houses in the boom period from 2004 to 2008, in order to extend the ceiling rate of €20,000 to the year 2017 in line with the 30% rate, as failure to do this will result in more families losing their homes with a drop in the tax relief scheme of over €200 per month for many families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11842/15]

Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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275. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding the tax relief scheme payment for persons who built their family home at the end of 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11869/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 269, 270, 274 and 275 together.

The position is that in Finance Act 2010, mortgage interest relief was extended up to end of 2017 for those whose entitlement to relief was due to end in 2010 or after.  Therefore, tax relief will continue to be available in respect of interest paid by an individual on qualifying home loans taken out on or after 1 January 2004 and on or before 31 December 2012, regardless of whether they are considered first-time buyers or non-first-time buyers.

This Government is committed to helping address the particular problems faced by those that bought homes at the height of the property boom between 2004 and 2008. In this regard, in Budget 2012, I fulfilled the commitment in the Programme for Government to increase the rate of mortgage interest relief to 30 per cent for first time buyers who took out their first mortgage in that period. This was the period during which house prices peaked.

A mortgage holder will qualify for the increased rate if they made their first mortgage interest payment in the period 2004 to 2008 or if they drew down their mortgage in that period. In addition, the increased rate of tax relief for first time buyers who took out their first mortgage in that period will continue up to and including the 2017 tax year.

Individuals that purchased their home within this specified date range are entitled to a 30% rate of relief on interest paid up to an interest ceiling of €20,000 if married/widowed and €10,000 if single, for the first seven years. Thereafter, the ceiling reduces for the remaining years to a maximum of €6,000 if married/widowed and €3,000 if single. The ceilings reduce in recognition of the fact that interest makes up a larger proportion of the mortgage payable in the earlier years of the mortgage period, and that capital makes up a larger proportion of the mortgage payable thereafter.

Regarding the Deputy's question concerning the month during which the mortgage is first taken out, Mortgage Interest Relief is granted up to the full appropriate ceiling for that year, and each subsequent year up to 2017, regardless of which month the mortgage payments actually commence.

Regarding the Deputy's question concerning individuals who built their family home at the end of 2004, it is not clear from the question which particular circumstance the Deputy has concerns about. However, I would point out that the look back period for tax relief purposes in respect of the tax years 2004 and 2005 has now passed.

Regarding the issue of mortgage difficulties, the latest publication from my Department shows the continued improvement in Principal Dwelling House (PDH) mortgage arrears since August 2013. The number of mortgage accounts in arrears of greater than 90 days has declined by almost 25%, while those accounts in arrears of less than 90 days fell by almost 28%. Total PDH mortgage accounts in arrears show a decline of almost 26% over the same time period from 118,438 in September 2013 to 87,818 at end January 2015.

Total Mortgage accounts that have been restructured now stand at 106,275. The number of mortgage accounts in arrears of greater than 90 days continues to fall, decreasing by 1,398 accounts to 60,868.  Engagement between consumers and lenders has resulted in an increase of 2,764 permanent mortgage restructures in January.

Given that the next Budget is almost seven months away it would be inappropriate for me to become involved in speculation on this matter. However, I will say that as part of the normal budgetary preparations, my officials continue to monitor the situation and will be examining potential options for changes to the tax system for my consideration as part of the overall Budget package. However, given that Mortgage Interest Relief has effectively been abolished since 2013 for new mortgages, I am not predisposed to reopen it to further amendment to provide additional benefits to existing claimants.