The Dáil will vote on a Sinn Féin motion to scrap the government’s proposed 10% levy on concrete products, which was announced in Budget 2023 last week.
The vote, which is scheduled to take place this evening (Wednesday, October 5) at 8:30p.m, is understood to have the backing of several independent TDs.
The proposed levy has come in for much criticism from both opposition politicians and farm organisations.
Earlier today, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) called for farmers to be exempt from the levy.
Tim Cullinan, the association’s president, said: “[Agricultural inflation] is running at multiple times general inflation, so there’s huge frustration among farmers at the imposition of the 10% concrete block levy as part of Budget 2023.
“This will further inflate the cost of doing business for farmers who are already dealing with a massive escalation in farm input costs,” he added.
Many farmers are required to install additional slurry and soiled water storage as part of the Nitrates Action Programme (NAP).
The government also announced in the budget that it will provide for capital allowances for slurry storage facilities.
However, Cullinan said that the concrete block levy would be a disincentive for farmers to invest in their facilities.
“We believe it’s entirely justified that concrete used for farm construction, either in the form of precast or ready mix, should be exempted from the levy,” the IFA president added.
According to the CSO, over the past two years, the price of ready mix concrete has increased by 25%, while the price of precast concrete has increased by 35%.
Yesterday, the three ministers at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said that their respective party members in the Dáil fully backed the levy.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, a member of Fianna Fáil, said: “All government deputies are 100% behind the budget we have introduced. Naturally, in the aftermath of a budget, there tends to be a focus on one or two issues from an opposition point of view.
Minister of state Martin Heydon commented that the Fine Gael parliamentary party would meet to discuss issues of the budget in detail, including the levy and its impact on the farming community.
Green Party member and Minister of State Pippa Hackett said: “We’ve all agreed that a comprehensive redress scheme for homeowners is needed. I think it’s only fair that the construction sector pays something towards that and we don’t rely entirely on taxpayers.”