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Donegal people spend €21,000 on
home improvements
08.07.16
DONEGAL homeowners
spent an average of €21,000 each last year on
renovation works including solar panels and other
energy improvements.
New figures show that some €149 million was spent in
Donegal on overall repairs, maintenance and
improvements, both domestic and commercial, in 2015.
The national spend in the renovations sector was
€4.2 billion.
The home improvements sector was partly fuelled by
the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) introduced by
the Government in late 2013. The scheme was
introduced to help householders reduce their energy
costs by using tax-compliant tradespeople rather
than black market operators.
A total of € 7.74 million was spent on over 368
projects by homeowners in Donegal at an average
spend of €21,033 per project, figures from the
Construction Industry Federation reveal.
The organisation said the HRI, which was extended to
rentals in 2014, was a "huge incentive" to the
legitimate construction contractors.
Donegal's
CIF regional director, Justin Molloy said: “The
repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) sector has
been growing strongly over the last number of years
and now accounts for over €1 in €3 spent in the
wider construction industry.
“As our economy continues to recover, coupled with
the continued population growth, the repair
maintenance and improvement sector of the
construction industry will continue to expand
ensuring continued investment in the upkeep of the
Ireland’s physical infrastructure." |
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