GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO increase the rent credit in the next budget, according to Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien.
Speaking to The Journal at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis in the RDS this afternoon, the minister said the tax credit is just the starting point.
A €1,000 tax credit for 2022 and 2023 was announced this week as part of the budget.
Details of how to claim the credit have yet to be announced, but it is expected to be claimed on an individual basis (except for married couples and civil partners) and the landlord must be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).
A previous tax credit for renters was phased out by 2018.
During this week’s Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting, the Taoiseach indicated that the credit was a platform that could be built upon.
O’Brien said his party had “affected a permanent change”, stating that Fianna Fáíl insisted upon that tax credit being reintroduced
“I mean, €1,000 per renter, €500 for 2022 and €500 for 2023. That will make a big difference for a lot of people and I do agree completely with the Taoiseach. That’s our starting position.
“So next year because we’ve made a permanent change, not just a cost-of -living change. We will be looking to see how we can increase that rate into the future. Renters need help, we as a party understand that and this is a significant step towards it,” O’Brien said.
The Taoiseach indicated yesterday that O’Brien will be staying in the housing brief.
The minister said he would be delighted to stay in his portfolio after the Cabinet reshuffle.
Housing charity Threshold said the new credit would provide some level of relief, it is “simply not enough”.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald accused Taoiseach Micheál Martin of leaving “the door wide open for more rent hikes, more exploitation, and more hardship”.
“Taoiseach, you have messed this up, and the renters of Ireland deserve more than this half-baked measure,” she said in the Dáil this week.
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