Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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172. To ask the Minister for Finance if he has initiated the process of carrying out an independent impact assessment on the help-to-buy scheme introduced as part of budget 2017; if this will involve assessing the impact of the scheme on the price of new homes, new housing supply and on the property market generally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12027/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that I agreed during the Committee Stage debate on the relevant section of Finance Bill 2016, to commission an independent impact assessment on the effects of the Help to Buy incentive on the supply of new homes, house prices, and the residential property market generally, for completion prior to Budget 2018.

My officials have drafted and issued a Request for Tender (RFT) for the production of an assessment of the Help to Buy tax incentive scheme by an independent body/expert. The request for tender stipulates that the study should assess whether the policy objectives on the supply of new homes are being met, what impact (if any) the scheme is having on new and second-hand house prices, and what impact the scheme is having generally on the residential property market. The RFT has been advertised on the Office of Government Procurement eTenders website at .

The output of this assessment will be a written report to be completed and submitted to me by 31 August 2017.