No tax breaks for property development were tabled at a high-powered meeting of Government Ministers on housing, despite days of speculation that the Coalition was considering the contentious measures.
The cabinet committee on housing met for the first time on Monday afternoon after Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe made a pointed intervention pushing back against the mooted reintroduction of some tax breaks similar to those seen during the Celtic Tiger.
Several sources with knowledge of the meeting said no proposals were tabled or agreed on tax, despite expectations that such measures would form part of the agenda.
A statement issued after Ministers met made no mention of tax breaks among a series of measures approved or discussed behind closed doors. However, one senior source said that while tax measures were not for discussion on Monday, there was nothing off the table and that the discussion would come in time.
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[ What is the new short-term letting legislation and why was it stalled?Opens in new window ]
The question of tax measures had led to some tension within the Coalition, with Mr Donohoe’s intervention the second made by the Minister for Finance in a matter of days.
It comes as the Government prepares to agree an additional €450 million in capital funding for the housing sector, which will be allocated to social, affordable and cost-rental homes in the next three years.
Opposition sources argued that the allocation would only bring the Government’s spending in line with last year, but some Government sources disputed this.
[ Fianna Fáil interventions on housing prompt puzzlement in Fine Gael ]
Meanwhile, Ministers have been told there are about 10,000 properties currently being advertised as for short-term letting which could be used for housing.
Briefing material prepared by the Department of Enterprise and Employment, which now also includes the tourism portfolio, says Fáilte Ireland estimates there are about 32,000 short-term letting properties advertised online in Ireland.
It says potentially 10,000 of those properties “could be of a type and location that could be suitable for long-term housing requirements”.
The briefing document says that a new European Union regulation governing short-term rentals would be applicable from May next year.
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It says this “will enable authorities to implement and enforce appropriate and proportionate laws to ensure there is a balance between the short- and long-term accommodation sectors”.
The general scheme of a Bill was approved by government and published in December 2022 which provided for the establishment of regulatory controls including the establishment of a register for all short-term let properties.
However, following the intervention of the European Commission, this was put on hold for a year to allow for the European regulation to be agreed.
The briefing material says the Bill will be of particular assistance in planning, introducing and collecting an accommodation levy.
