Labour Party TD for Galway West, Derek Nolan, has welcomed news from the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, that the home renovation scheme will begin this Friday, instead of next year as originally announced.

Mr Nolan said: "The announcement in the Budget of a home renovation tax relief for households who use registered tradesmen was an innovative and welcome initiative. This earlier start date will bring more certainty to builders as many people were delaying home renovations until the New Year.

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"This is a proposal which I had suggested to Minister Noonan in the run up to last year's Budget and I am glad to see it implemented this week.

"This tax relief will be available for the next two years and will cover home renovations costing between €5,000 and €30,000 and most importantly, incentivises homeowners to only use tax-compliant tradespeople.

"The new tax relief will stimulate jobs in the construction industry in Ireland, giving those in long-term unemployment the opportunity to get back to work. The economic recession in this country – the result of a severely inflated property market – meant that thousands of jobs were lost in the construction sector. This initiative seeks to address this problem, making the hiring of registered carpenters, tilers, builders, electricians and plumbers, among others, a more attractive option for householders."

(CD/JP)