Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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130. To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated cost of reintroducing the rent relief tax credit in budget 2019 on the same basis as pre 2010. [37474/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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181. To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated cost of reintroducing the rent tax credit that was suspended in 2010 for all persons in the private rental market. [38122/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 181 together.

I am advised by Revenue that the number availing of the rent relief tax credit, and the associated cost to the Exchequer, are available on the Revenue website at . The credit is available to those paying for private rented accommodation. This includes rent paid for flats, apartments or houses. It does not include rent paid to local authorities. The credit is currently only available to a person who was renting on 7 December 2010. This tax credit will cease to be available after 31 December 2017.

I am advised by Revenue that, as the rent relief tax credit is in the process of being phased out, and no new claimants have qualified for the relief since 2010, tax returns do not provide a reliable basis for Revenue to accurately predict either the numbers of tenants that could be eligible to claim a rent credit were it to be re-introduced post 2017 for all tenants, or the degree to which potential claimants could absorb the full amount of the credit. Therefore, there is no reliable basis available to Revenue on which to estimate the potential cost of a rent credit reintroduction.

At the same time, it may be of assistance to the Deputy to note that, according to Census 2016 data, the private rented sector amounts to approximately 310,000 units. For comparison, in 2010 the rent relief tax credit cost €82.8 million in respect of 189,000 claimants. However, all of the individuals recorded on the Census as renting these 310,000 units may not qualify for rent relief tax credit or be able to absorb the relief in full if it were available, and so this would not be a robust basis on which to estimate a costing.