Tipperary Sinn Féin TD Martin Browne has urged all TDs to back the party’s upcoming motion in the Dáil to scrap the government’s 10% concrete block levy plans as announced in the Budget.
The Cashel based TD describes the government’s plan
as flawed and one that poses a risk to making the housing crisis in Tipperary even worse. Deputy Browne says the scheme is badly designed and means that people living in homes with defects as well as first time buyers will see their house prices increase. The Society of Chartered Surveyors have warned that the scheme could add €4,000 to the price of a new house.
The TD also objects to homeowners and buyers being expected to foot the bill for the concrete blocks scandal. The Government says the scheme could rise an extra €80M annually and will use the funds to support the MICA Redress scheme for homeowners whose houses were built with defective blocks. The Sinn Fein proposal is for the defects levy to be targeted at banks, the profits of big developers and those responsible for the defective materials.
