Finance Bill Clarifies That all First Time Buyers in 2008 Are Eligible for Mortgage Interest Relief-Lawlor

Fine Gael TD for Kildare North, Anthony Lawlor, has today (Wednesday) praised the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, for including in the Finance Bill the provision that all first time buyers who bought in 2008 will be entitled to mortgage interest relief, even if they did not start paying interest on their loan until 2009.

“A number of weeks ago, I asked Minister Noonan to look at this provision in the Finance Bill as a number of my constituents had alerted me to the fact that, while they purchased their home in 2008, they did not have to pay interest on the loan until 2009.

“The provision now contained in today’s Finance Bill states that mortgage holders will qualify for the increased rate of relief if they made their first mortgage interest payment in the period between 2004 and 2008 or drew down their mortgage (purchased) in the same period.

“I am pleased that this issue has been addressed and that a lot of people in this situation can now rest easy as they will receive the increased mortgage interest relief of 30 per cent. I would also like to thank Minister Noonan for providing clarity on this matter in the Finance Bill today.”