Mr Phil Hogan TD, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, has addressed key stakeholders at the Grant Thornton Construction Workshop.

The Minister spoke about measures introduced in the budget aimed at providing a boon for the building sector.

The Minister said: "Perhaps the most helpful announcement in the budget, from a construction perspective, is the Home Renovation Initiative which will incentivise domestic renovations and increase demand for small construction jobs. Under the scheme homeowners will gain an income tax credit of 13.5 per cent for an investment of between €5,000 and €35,000 on home improvements carried out by a tax-compliant contractor."

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This follows the announcement that under Budget 2014, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government will oversee a capital investment programme of €311m that will be allocated to a variety of large, medium and small-scale capital projects in the areas of urban regeneration, social housing development, and upgrade works, pyrite remediation, rural water schemes, local and community services and fire and emergency services.

"Indeed," said the Minister, "A further €50m is also being made available to the Department for investment in the new Infrastructure Stimulus Plan."

However, the Minister was particularly anxious to highlight measures being taken to put the consumer first where the building sector was concerned. "After the shambles of Priory Hall and the problems faced by people whose homes suffered from pyrite, and all this as a result of light-touch building regulation by previous administrations, the Minister wanted to make it clear that those days will be well and truly relegated to the past."

(CD/JP)