Frances Fitzgerald
Question:123 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Finance the reason tax relief for pensioners for installation of burglar alarms has been abolished. [17177/00]
Written Answers. - Security of the Elderly.
As the Deputy will be aware, section 478 of the 1997 Taxes Consolidation Act, formerly section 5 of the 1996 Finance Act, introduced a tax relief in respect of the purchase and/or installation of house alarm systems for persons aged 65 years of age and over and living alone. The legislation provided specifically that the tax relief would be available only for the period 23 January 1996 to 5 April 1998.
The tax relief was allowed to lapse in part because of the small numbers of claims being submitted.