Tax Incentives Needed For Refurbishment Of Buildings In Rural Towns and Villages

With regard to proposals to provide tax incentives for those who are willing to renovate or take over disused or vacant business premises in rural towns and villages, I would welcome any such move. This is something that I have been proposing since I went into politics and it is something that I will be addressing in my major policy document on Rural Ireland which I am working on at the moment. I would also be proposing that private citizens who undertake such work should get their VAT returned and that businesses who are prepared to renovate and refurbish these buildings get a rebate on their rates. Huge amounts of money have been taken out of the economy of every county in property taxes so this would be a way of giving something back. I will also be asking the Minister to engage with the banks to provide loans for this purpose. We have to revive our rural towns and villages and this would be a good way to get tourism going again and to assist with the revival of local economies which is so badly needed. This is a matter that I will be following up on an ongoing basis into the future.