Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 26 Jun 2003

Vol. 569 No. 5

Written Answers. - Tax Allowances.

Seán Ryan

Question:

75 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Finance the total amount of relief claimed in each year since the scheme was introduced in respect of the capital allowance for private nursing homes, introduced under section 22 of the Finance Act 1998; the total number of nursing homes in respect of which relief was claimed for each year; the total number of new beds in respect of which relief was claimed for each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18181/03]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

As the Deputy is aware, in budget 1998 I introduced a system of capital allowances for expenditure on the construction or refurbishment of nursing homes that are registered with a health board. The purpose of this measure is to encourage investment in increased nursing home capacity and in improved facilities for the elderly and incapacitated for which there is a growing demand. In the Finance Act 2002 I extended the scope of this relief by providing capital allowances for expenditure incurred on the construction or refurbishment of housing units associated with a registered nursing home. This scheme acts as an incentive for the provision of suitable residential accommodation in caring for elderly persons who are no longer able to live alone without some level of care but who do not as yet need to transfer to full nursing home residence.

Under the normal self-assessment tax rules any person seeking to claim capital allowances in respect of a qualifying building would submit their claim on the appropriate tax return form. However, the form does not distinguish between capital allowances claimed in respect of nursing homes and on private convalescent facilities from those claimed in respect of other buildings entitled to capital allowances. Consequently it is not possible for Revenue to indicate the level of take-up of this specific incentive. In order to estimate the number of nursing homes that have availed of the capital allowances scheme, officials from my Department have written to the Department of Health and Children requesting that it contact the relevant health boards and ascertain the number of private nursing homes that have been registered since the scheme was introduced, the number of beds in each nursing home and the construction cost of each building.

I assure the Deputy that all tax reliefs and incentives are kept under review, especially in the context of the budget and Finance Bill, to ensure that they continue to fulfil the objective or objectives for which they were introduced.