Labour TD Eamon Maloney has welcomed the news that the home renovation tax break introduced in the Budget has driven a recent rise in construction activity in Ireland.

Mr Maloney said: "This is an example of a Budget measure that is already working well for homeowners and builders at local level.

"Confirmation from the latest Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers Index that building activity grew last month at the fastest pace in nine years is hugely encouraging. The Index showed that house-building activity was the single biggest contributor to this growth, with Ulster Bank saying the new tax break in particular drove a jump in the number of home renovation projects.

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"The aim of the tax relief is to incentivise homeowners to spend money on their own home by offering them a tax break of 13.5% off the cost of the project. It was also designed to jumpstart activity in the building sector - clearly we can now see this happening with employment being generated for small-scale builders, carpenters, plumbers, and other workers."

(CD/JP)