Laois Sinn Féin man lays into the concrete tax

A tax on concrete to cover the cost of mica damage to homes all over Ireland is “deeply flawed’’ and "unfair," according to Sinn Féin's TD for Laois Offaly.

Brian Stanley outlined his party’s case for scrapping the Governments concrete levy a statement.

“The proposal to put a 10% levy on concrete products will further fuel house price inflation and construction inflation generally at a time when the price of concrete had increased by almost 50% in the past 18 months. This will have the effect of pushing the price of new homes further beyond the reach of first-time buyers and hitting ordinary people in their pockets," he said.

The TD claimed the estimated effect this will have on the price of new homes according to the Chartered Surveyors of Ireland ranges from €2000 to €4000. He added that this increase will also impact the cost of farm buildings and commercial units.

He argued for a different approach to covering the cost of mica damage.

“The Mica problem was caused by defective concrete blocks and poor construction regulation during the Celtic Tiger period and the failure of the then Government to put proper regulations in place.  Many of the companies involved in supplying materials made mega profits and any of those companies who are still in business should bear most of the cost for Mica Remediation Scheme.

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"The €2.57 billion that is required for the Mica redress cannot simply be loaded onto the taxpayer and home buyers. With the State funding the upfront cost, it is essential that large developers who used these materials along the western seaboard without carrying out proper checks also need to be held accountable. Others who profited from that construction boom should be levied and this includes some of banks," he said. 

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Dep Stanley said it is now essential that the Government change their proposed scheme and also need to ensure that proper quality control inspections are carried out on concrete products and construction projects.