Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As he will know, the decision on the defective concrete products levy arose from the decision of November 2021 to respond to the great harm that has been caused to so many people, including many of the Deputy's constituents, due to the presence of mica in their homes and buildings. As part of the work undertaken on the impact the levy would have on the construction sector, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage commissioned a bottom-up scientific analysis, which was carried out by an independent construction economics cost consultant, to help to identify the likely impact of the levy on construction costs.

This report was produced in September 2022 and took account of the prevailing relevant costs in the construction sector as they applied at the time they were prepared. The costs set out in the report are for the third quarter of 2022 and account for inflation up to that point. Revised figures have not been prepared since, given that it has only been a short time since the report was prepared and published.

The report was on the impact of the levy as announced in my budget 2023 speech and is a cost assessment based on a levy of 10%. As the rate of the levy published in the Finance Bill 2022 has been reduced to 5%, the costings in the analysis can be reduced by approximately 50%. These are the hard costs of between €400 and €800 for a typical three-bed semi-detached house and of between €375 and €550 per apartment for a typical six-floor apartment block with a basement carpark. When soft costs are added, the figures move ahead of those given. The percentage increases are approximately 0.2% to 0.45% for a typical semi-detached dwelling and 0.15% to 0.2% for a typical apartment for both hard and soft costs. I continue to believe this measure is appropriate.

See this speech in context