Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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181. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason the value of a site is taken into account in the calculation of the loan-to-value ratio for the help-to-buy scheme in cases in which a family member has gifted a site for a single house to a family member with no need to borrow against the value of the site; his views on whether this will make the scheme inaccessible to many persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13121/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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S.477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act sets out the requirements of the Help to Buy incentive. It provides that a qualifying first time buyer must take out a loan in an amount equal to at least 70% of either the purchase price of the property in the case of a purchased house or the value of the property in the case of a self-build house. The valuation of a self-build is as approved by the lender as determined in accordance with the Central Bank’s macro prudential rules.  These rules stipulate the valuation as being the site cost plus the cost of construction.

My Department's tax expenditure guidelines require that tax incentives must seek to avoid deadweight. It is my view that extending the incentive to those first-time buyers whose loan to value is below 70% would not be consistent with that requirement.