Effort to axe ‘deeply flawed’ concrete levy

HEATED exchanges characterised the first stage of a private members Dáil motion last night (October 4), urging government to scrap the proposed 10% levy on concrete products. The charge was outlined in Budget 2023 as a means of raising funds to support the revised scheme for homeowners, including those in Clare, with defective concrete blocks. 

The proposal has been widely criticised by sectors including construction and farming, as well as action groups for pyrite and mica homeowners. In Clare, Dr Martina Cleary, founder of the local action group slammed the levy, saying it was letting the real culprits in the pyrite scandal off the hook. 

This week Sinn Féin tabled a motion aiming to have the levy scrapped. Tuesday night’s debate was chaired by Deputy Joe Carey, in his capacity as Acting Chairperson. 

Ahead of the vote on Wednesday night, Sinn Féin Councillor Donna McGettigan urged all Clare TDs to back the motion. 

The Shannon representative described the plans as “flawed” and said they “risk making the housing crisis in Clare even worse”.

“The scheme is badly designed and will mean that people living in homes with defects as well as first time buyers will see their house prices soar,” she said. “The Society of Chartered Surveyors have warned that this scheme could see an eye-watering €4,000 added to the price of a house.”

Councillor McGettigan also said it was “totally unacceptable” that ordinary people should foot the bill for the scandal. “This is hitting ordinary people’s pockets, at a time when they are already struggling with sky high housing costs due to this government’s failure to tackle the growing housing crisis in Clare and across the state,” she said. “Our motion calls for the government to hold those actually responsible for housing defects to account. It calls for a defects levy that instead focuses on the banks, the profits of big developers and those responsible for defects. I am urging all TDs to back our motion next week and stand with ordinary homeowners and buyers to ensure that they are not subjected to the government’s deeply flawed and unfair scheme.”

The motion was goes to a vote on Wednesday night.