Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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72. To ask the Minister for Finance the details of the tax relief at source deducted from the interest refunds banks are making to certain customers as a result of the Central Bank tracker mortgage examination by bank; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31974/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Revenue administers mortgage interest relief in accordance with Section 244 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The level of relief applied by lenders to each case is based on the applicable ceiling, the rate of relief allowable and the percentage of the loan that qualifies for the relief. The information required by the lenders to ensure that the correct level of relief is applied is provided by Revenue through an electronic file transfer system that operates on a monthly basis.

Revenue is currently in discussions with the lenders to quantify the full amount of excess mortgage interest relief to be repaid on foot of the tracker mortgage redress examination. The process requires the lenders to deal directly with Revenue in regard to the findings and refund any excess amounts that were paid to borrowers.

While the exact amount is not yet fully quantified, €2.8m has already been repaid to Revenue by the lenders and it is expected that the remaining amounts will be recovered. Revenue is constrained from providing breakdowns in respect of the individual lenders by Section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.