The Rent Tax Credit would go up to €1,500 per tenant and a tax incentive aimed at keeping landlords in the rental market would be extended until 2030 under Fine Gael’s housing plans.
On Monday Taoiseach Simon Harris will launch his party’s plan to deliver more than 300,000 new homes by the end of the decade. The €40 billion plan would use most of the windfall from the Apple tax case, some €10 billion of the overall €14 billion.
Fine Gael is promising to increase the Help-to-Buy tax relief for first-time buyers to €40,000 and extend the scheme until 2030. It would also extend it to cover first-time buyers of second-hand homes.
Meanwhile, the party is planning to increase the Rent Tax Credit from €1,000 to €1,500 per renter or up to €3,000 for a couple who are jointly assessed for tax. It would continue the landlord tax credit until 2030 for landlords who stay in the rental market, thereby “encouraging stability”, according a Fine Gael source.
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And Fine Gael is to commit to exploring the idea of cost-rental housing for “frontline workers” to ensure that key workers can live close to their places of work.
Separately, in a policy pledge on Sunday, Fine Gael said it would create a “contribution model for asylum seekers” if re-elected to government.
“This will range from €15 a week to €268 a week,” Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said. “If you have an income you should make a contribution.
“This won’t apply to people who cannot work, or are unable to work. We believe this is an appropriate measure to help us create a fair but firmer migration system.”
He said Fine Gael will outline further measures on migration over the coming weeks, including returning migration policy to the Department of Justice.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin responded to the proposal saying the last Government already committed to means testing after the six-month period when asylum seekers become eligible for work. Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik criticised the Fine Gael proposals on contributions from asylum seekers as “populist pandering”.
On Saturday Fine Gael pledged to cut the VAT rate for the hospitality sector to 11 per cent. It comes just weeks after no change was implemented in Budget 2025 despite extensive lobbying from the sector. The rate had previously been cut to 9 per cent to support such businesses during the pandemic before being restored to 13.5 per cent.
Mr Martin later expressed concern the Fine Gael proposal on reducing VAT could have a knock-on effect of raising rates on electricity and gas. Mr Harris sought to allay such concerns on Sunday, saying Fine Gael’s proposal should not be considered in isolation as it was one of a series of measures the party was proposing to deal with the cost of living.
“There is more to come, though, in our cost-of-living measures, because we’re absolutely committed to helping people with their energy bills,” he said in Cork.
Mr Martin reiterated his concerns over the impact on energy costs, saying that an 11 per cent VAT rate was explored before the budget and the three Coalition leaders “pulled back” from it. “Now obviously there’s been a change of heart on the Fine Gael side,” he said.
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