IN A pre-Budget proposal, County Limerick politician Richard O’Donoghue has recommended new financial supports for those seeking to build a home on their own lands.
The Rural Ireland Independent TD explained that his group proposes the establishment of a new €20,000 grant aid package for anyone seeking to construct a permanent one-off house on their own lands, which he believes would particularly benefit rural areas.
“We previously presented this proposal in a Dáil motion in May, and we now strongly demand this Government include it in Budget 2024. If the Government is genuinely committed to addressing the housing crisis, this grant package would be a vital starting point,” Deputy O’Donoghue declared.
“For instance, we propose reducing the VAT rate from 13.5 per cent to 9 per cent under the EU VAT Directive as an incentive for building, repairing, and retrofitting homes. The tax strategy group estimates the cost of such a social policy to be €400million, with an additional €180million for repair, maintenance, and retrofitting.”
According to Deputy O’Donoghue, these figures would add up to €16million and €7.2million for Limerick respectively.
He claimed the Government’s flagship Housing for All strategy — a strand of which was to have 250 affordable homes to be made available for purchase or for rent in Limerick each year — has “failed miserably”.
“Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien appears more concerned with making glossy announcements than taking concrete and actionable steps to ramp up housing supply.”
