Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
287. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Finance if he is considering incentives for households in view of the success of the home renovation incentive for persons to upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes in budget 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24032/20]
View answerThe Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) was introduced by Section 477B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 in 2014 and was terminated in accordance with its statutory sunset clause on 31 December 2018.
With only four weeks to go, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on what may or may not be contained in the annual Budget.
However, it is the case that the re-introduction of such an incentive, even for a modified purpose, could be very costly. I must be mindful of the public finances and the many demands on the Exchequer; tax reliefs, no matter how worthwhile in themselves, lead to a narrowing of the tax base. Under my Department's Tax Expenditure Guidelines, the introduction of new tax incentive measures, or the continuation of measures which are due to terminate, should only be considered in circumstances where there is a demonstrable market failure and where a tax based incentive is more efficient than a direct expenditure intervention.
