Sinn Féin is calling on the Minister for Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe, to “correct the Dáil record” in relation to the scope of the government’s concrete levy.
The party’s spokesperson on finance, Pearse Doherty said that the minister’s claims that the levy would exclude pre-cast products were false, along with causing confusion and uncertainty in the construction sector and wider industry.
The Defective Concrete Products Levy (DCPL) came into effect on Friday (September 1) will add 5% onto the cost of certain concrete products.
Concrete levy
“The government will push ahead with their deeply flawed concrete products levy, even despite all the warnings that this levy will result in higher housing and building costs for workers and families,” Deputy Doherty said.
“This is ultimately a tax on new homes which will push up building costs and house prices.
“In October Minister Paschal Donohoe made repeated claims that the levy excluded precast products – from blocks and paving to lintels and posts. These claims were false.
“It was clear as soon as the Finance Bill was published that this was not the case, and that poured concrete, a key element of precast products, would be subject to the levy,” the Donegal TD said.
Deputy Doherty said that he raised the issue with officials from the Department of Finance on October 26, 2022.
“Minister Donohoe should correct the Dáil record. More importantly, the government should scrap this flawed levy, which will increase construction costs and house prices,” he said.
Farmers
The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said that farm construction should not be liable for the new levy introduced.
IFA Farm Business Committee chair Rose Mary McDonagh said that the measure will act as a “disincentive” to farmers planning projects such as additional slurry storage.
A recent KPMG study found that the levy will add in the region of €1,000 to the cost of a typical silage slab.
A spokesperson for the Department of Finance told Agriland that the application of the levy to the pouring concrete element that forms a constituent part of precast concrete products was provided for in the Finance Act 2022.
“Precast products had originally been listed as being within scope of the levy when the Budget was announced, but following further consideration these were removed prior to the publication of what became Finance Act 2022.
“Therefore, while such products are not within scope of the DCPL the pouring concrete element which forms a constituent part of precast concrete products is within scope.
“The Department has been in communication with the concrete sector and wider construction industry in regard to the DCPL and will continue to consider the points raised by them as part of those interactions,” the spokesperson added.