Terence Flanagan
Ceist:70. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if the home renovation scheme has been working successfully; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35103/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 18 September 2014
Ceisteanna (70)
Freagraí ó Béal (1 píosaí cainte)
As the Deputy is aware, the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) was introduced in Finance Act (No. 2) 2013. The Incentive came into operation on 25 October 2013 and will run until 31 December 2015. It provides for tax relief for homeowners by way of a tax credit at 13.5% of qualifying expenditure incurred on repair, renovation or improvement work, carried out by tax compliant contractors, on a homeowner's only or main residence. The tax credit is granted over the two years following the year the work is carried out and paid for.
The level of activity in the scheme is significant, with the total numbers recorded on the Home Renovation Incentive system (HRI online) as at 15/09/2014 as follows:
|
Home Renovation Scheme |
- |
|
Works |
10,334 |
|
Estimate Value of Works |
€171 million |
|
Number of Properties |
8,286 |
|
Number of Contractors |
2,751 |
Over the last 10 weeks, activity on HRI online has continued to steadily increase with on average over 340 works and over €5.5m estimated value of works per week.
This highlights that the scheme is an important support for employment and self-employment in the tax compliant construction sector. The scheme has been broadly welcomed in all quarters, and indeed the CIF has cited the scheme among a number of factors contributing to an estimated 10,000 extra jobs this year.