The Government is set to consider increasing tax allowances for people renting accommodation. This is one of the new proposals on the housing market recommended by economic consultant Dr Peter Bacon.
The proposals are contained in a follow-up to Dr Bacon's first report, published last April.
The new plan, commissioned by the Minister of State for Housing, Mr Bobby Molloy, will be presented to Cabinet this morning and published later today.
To help people struggling with rising rents, the report is expected to propose increases of perhaps up to 50 per cent in the tax allowances on renting. These are now £500 per annum for a single person under 55, £1,000 for the over-55s and £750 for married couples. It is not clear if the Government will act immediately in response.
It also calls for further study of landlord and tenant legislation.
The report is also expected to call for a change in the way the calculation is made about how much a home-buyer can borrow, which now relates the size of the loan to gross income. It will call for loans to be related to net after-tax income, allowing many homeowners to borrow more.
The report will argue that greater supply of new housing is the key policy area to be addressed and will call for an acceleration in the provision of land zoned and serviced for housing by local authorities. Some changes in new capital gains tax rules are proposed to encourage developers to bring land on stream.
It will also call for plans to increase suburban housing density - to which the Government responded by issuing a directive to local authorities last week.
The report will also point to the need for a new overall plan for Dublin and the mid-east region, to examine the potential of towns outside Dublin such as Navan and Naas for new development, to take pressure off the capital.
The report calls for schemes jointly funded by the Government and private business to improve infrastructure and to accelerate a key new sewerage scheme for north Co Dublin.