Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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378. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will consider introducing measures to provide tax relief on the cost of childcare which will greatly assist struggling families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29396/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As I indicated in March last in my response to a similar question from Deputy Holly Cairns (No. 192 of 24 March), I acknowledge the cost pressures on parents with young children. In recognition of these pressures, a number of support measures are already in place to ease the burden on working parents. These include various tax-exemptedfinancial supports provided by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to assist parents to offset the costs of early learning and childcare and measures such as the Working Family Payment provided by the Minister for Social Protection.

Budget 2022 announced the introduction of a number of direct expenditure measures to support parents in respect of childcare costs, including:

- From May 2022, hours spent in the Early Childhood Care and Education pre-school programme or school will no longer be deducted from a family's entitlement to subsidised hours of care under the National Childcare Scheme.

- From May 2022, a Transition Fund for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare providers will require participating providers to ensure no increase on parental fees from the September 2021 levels. This will be replaced in September 2022 by a new Core Funding stream which requires participating providers to maintain their fee levels at or below September 2021 levels.

- From September 2022, the universal subsidy of the National Childcare Scheme will be extended to children aged up to 15.

These measures will ensure that the full affordability benefits of the National Childcare Scheme and the Early Childhood Care and Education programme are felt by parents.

With regard to taxation measures, and separate to the above:

-The Accelerated Capital Allowances scheme for Childcare Services was introduced to encourage employers to develop childcare facilities onsite for their employees. www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-09/09-01-11.pdf.

- Individuals who provide child-minding services in their own home may claim childcare services relief each year, provided that they do not receive more than €15,000 income per annum from the child-minding income. www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/children/childcare-services/index.aspx.

- A Single Person Child Carer tax credit of €1,650 is available as well as an additional standard rate band of €4,000. This credit and band is payable to any single person with a child under 18 years of age or over 18 years of age if in full time education or permanently incapacitated. The primary claimant may relinquish this credit and increase in the rate band to a secondary claimant with whom the child resides for not less than 100 days in the year. www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/children/single-person-child-carer-credit/index.aspx.

As the Deputy will appreciate, I receive many requests for the introduction of new tax reliefs and the extension of existing ones. In considering these, I must be mindful of the public finances and the many demands on the Exchequer and I must have regard to budgetary constraints and the equitable treatment of all tax-payers. Tax reliefs, no matter how worthwhile in themselves, reduce the tax base and make general reform of the tax system that much more difficult.

Providing a tax credit for parents in respect of childcare costs was considered by the Interdepartmental Group on Future Investment in Childcare in 2015 and was deemed not to be the best approach to investing in affordability for parents. Further details of that consideration are available in that report: assets.gov.ie/36162/37cc5033f3124062912a416088a48827.pdf.

Therefore, I do not currently have any plans to introduce additional tax relief on the cost of childcare.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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379. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will consider introducing measures to provide tax relief on home rental costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29397/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As outlined in the 'Housing for All' strategy, the Government’s primary response to mitigating residential price inflation is to increase supply. The strategy outlines the plan to increase affordability and housing supply by committed to, amongst other things, an average of 2,000 new ‘cost rental’ homes every year, with targets of rents being at least 25 per cent below market level. Additionally, in respect of properties in rent pressure zones, since 11 December 2021 annual rent increases are limited to 2 per cent per annum or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.

Tax relief in respect of rent paid was previously available to those paying for private rented accommodation, including rent paid for flats, apartments or houses. It did not include rent paid to local authorities. This relief was abolished in Budget 2011 following a recommendation in the 2009 report by the Commission on Taxation. As such, it is no longer available to those that commenced renting for the first time from 08 December 2010.

The view of the independent Commission on Taxation (2009) was that, in the same manner in which mortgage interest relief increases the cost of housing, rent relief increases the cost of private rented accommodation. Accordingly, the result of reintroducing this relief would very likely be a transfer of Exchequer funding directly to landlords, which would not have the intended effect of reducing the cost pressure on tenants.

At the time of its abolition, the rental tax relief cost the Exchequer up to €97m per annum and it is likely that this figure would be even higher today were a similar scheme to be put in place.

Having regard to the foregoing, I have no plans, at present, to reintroduce a tax relief for home rental costs incurred for private rented accommodation.