Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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115. To ask the Minister for Finance when payments will be made to first-time buyers who are eligible to apply for a refund of deposit interest retention tax paid in the previous 48 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27101/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that Section 266A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for a refund of Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) on certain savings held by qualifying first-time buyers who purchase or self-build a property between 14 October 2014 and 31 December 2017.

A qualifying first-time buyer is a person who, at the time of the purchase, has not previously purchased or built any other dwelling, either individually or jointly with any other person.

The section provides for a repayment of DIRT paid in respect of interest earned by the first-time buyer in the 48 months prior to the purchase of a dwelling for use as his/her place of residence. The repayment is limited to DIRT relating to deposits of up to 20% of the purchase price of the home.

Revenue have developed an online system to facilitate applications for these DIRT repayments. This system has been operational since March 2015 and refunds for qualifying claims are currently being processed. To make a claim, the property must be registered for Local Property Tax. A claim form can be completed and a refund requested online once the first-time buyer logs into the Local Property Tax system on www.revenue.ie. Once all the necessary information and supporting documentation is supplied a refund can be issued to the first-time buyer's bank account. To date, 43 DIRT refunds have been issued to qualifying first-time buyers.