The Rural Independent Dáil grouping led by Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath have hit out at the imposition of the 5% levy on concrete products as of September 1st.
The TD says it will increase the cost of constructing homes, farm facilities, and vital infrastructure and comes at time of increases in excise duty on fuel and an increase in VAT.
Given the housing crisis Deputy McGrath says the move is unacceptable and will not provide any meaningful support to those impacted by mica related issues.
The government introduced the levy to raise funds to cover the estimated €2B cost of the Redress scheme for homes in Clare, Limerick, Donegal and Mayo impacted by defective blocks.
Deputy McGrath notes that the ESRI asserts that the government could fund the Redress scheme from existing Revenue without imposing a new levy. The levy is forest to raise €32M in a 2024. 80% of the revenue will come from sales of ready mix concrete which was not the defective product causing the damage to homes. Deputy McGrath describes the levy as another example of poor decision making by the Government.
