Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Housing For All - a New Housing Plan for Ireland is the Government’s housing policy to 2030, with an overall objective to ensure that everyone in the State has access to a home to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and in the right place, offering a high quality of life. Action 17.1 of Housing for All commits to removing “potential barriers to use of the rent a room scheme to increase its potential as a source of student accommodation by reviewing the assessment of Rent a Room Income within the Medical Card assessment process.”

Rent a Room tax relief is a measure put in place by the Revenue Commissioners in 2001 to increase the availability of accommodation for rent in the State. The relief allows participants on the scheme to earn up to €14,000 per year tax-free if they rent out a room (or rooms) in their home for use as accommodation by others. The objective of Government is to provide for a disregard of up to €14,000 income for persons who have been granted Rent a Room relief by the Revenue Commissioners such that the income will not be assessed within the medical card assessment process.

Officials in my Department have progressed work, over recent months, to develop legislative amendments needed to give effect to this objective. Government approved the publication of the General Scheme of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill on 3rd October 2023. Following Government approval for publication of the final text of the Bill (23rd January 2024), the Bill was published on 31st January. The draft legislation has now commenced its passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas and it is hoped that this will be completed as soon as possible.