Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The bottom line is that the Deputy behind Deputy Doherty endorsed the original scheme back in January 2020, a scheme we accept was not suitable. We are saying we must depoliticise the methodology around the costings here. The SCSI on an annual basis updates the square footage building costs. They accept a sliding scale. Most people involved in building and surveying accept the methodology of a sliding scale. We did not want to disadvantage the smaller houses. If you look at the property tax returns, for example, you will see that the vast majority of housing in Donegal is around the €200,000-plus mark. I accept that rebuilding costs can be more expensive than current valuations in terms of the cost of construction and so on, but it is a much more advanced scheme than the previous scheme with regard to the €20,000 grants-----

See this speech in context