Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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91. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide an update on the increased soft and hard costs resulting from the defective concrete products levy on a typical semi-detached house, its impact on housing supply and the cost of remediation for homeowners affected by defective blocks. [55906/22]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Government plans to push ahead with a flawed and counterproductive levy on concrete products, even despite all the warnings that the levy it has designed will result in higher housing and building costs for workers and families. We heard at a meeting of the finance committee from experts, including the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and those impacted by the mica scandal, that the sum impact of the levy will lead directly to increased building costs and challenge the viability of housing projects. Those are not my words; they are what the society is saying, what the Construction Industry Federation, CIF, is saying and what those affected by mica are saying. Is there any chance of the Government reversing this decision?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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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.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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What is clear as we see the detail of the measure and the documents that followed the publication of the Finance Bill is that the levy will have an impact. The impact is very clear; it is negative. It will be negative for those struggling to rebuild their homes in Donegal and right down the coast. It will be negative for the victims of the mica scandal. It will also be negative in respect of the viability of housing projects, as the Construction Industry Federation and Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland warned the Government. It is time to go back to the drawing board. As a result of construction costs rising, the viability of certain projects is already at risk. We know the price of concrete has already risen by 37% in the past year alone and housing projects are under threat. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland made it clear that the cost of a semi-detached house will increase by €1,200 under the Minister's measure. This will be passed on to customers. At a time when we should be trying to drive down house prices, why does the Minister believe increasing the cost of a house by €1,200 is the appropriate measure?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy talks about documents that follow but I want to go back to the document he published before budget day. I ask him again where it is now. I am asking him this because it concerns a key point. The reason I am making a case for the levy – conscious of all the risks the Deputy referred to, because I accept they exist – is that the greater risk would be to pretend to the country that there is money to meet every vital need, including the mica need, and that no consequences or risks would flow from this. I stand with the Deputy in wanting to rebuild the homes and make a difference for those families who have been afflicted by the mica problem. I need to be honest, though, about the need for us to pay for this. I put it to the Deputy that he does not recognise in his budget proposals the choices that must be made and that is why his alternative budget is no longer available.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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If the Minister googles our alternative budget, he will find it online. He should not deflect from the reality or the real issue like he did when he abandoned those who are seeing massive increases in mortgage interest and the victims of the mica scandal, who came to this House and whom I know. I have sat in their homes and have seen the cracks in the walls. I have seen the water running down into open plugs and sockets. I know these people feel abandoned by the Government. Worse, they now feel the Government is now going to make it harder for them to rebuild their own homes. The Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland, not Sinn Féin, said €1,200 will be the price increase on an ordinary home given what the Minister is planning. The Construction Industry Federation has told us this is wrong. Barra Roantree from the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, has said this is a wrong decision. It is not just Sinn Féin that is saying it. The Minister can talk about honesty and dishonesty all he wants but he should listen to the experts, who are telling him the wrong decision has been made. The Minister asks what the alternatives are. I put it to him, and will put it to him when we deal with the banks Bill, that he should not be cutting the levy on banks, as he did last year. He has cut it by nearly €80 million, which is twice as much as he would get from actually charging homeowners to rebuild their own homes.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I did google the alternative budget on the way here. What came up was the alternative health budget. Maybe between my doing that and taking these parliamentary questions, all the Deputy's colleagues in the Balkans will be changing all the time. The alternative budget of the Deputy was not available this morning and is not available on his party's website.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I am happy that the Minister changed his proposal-----

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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To go back to the core point, of course I want to make money available to help all the poor families who have been affected by mica. I have met them, although I accept I have not met as many as the Deputy. Of course I want to make money available to help those who are affected by rising rents and the rising cost of living, but the money has to come from somewhere. The money has to be available.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Take it out of the pockets of the owners of homes with mica.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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If you are making the case for leading the Government and being responsible for public finances, you need to explain where the money is coming from.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I have already explained.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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If you do not, you are a source of risk-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister decided to push up house prices.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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If you do not, you run the risk of inflicting on this economy and our jobs the kind of risk-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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But the Minister will vote against the levy on banks later on.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I will keep coming back to the question of where the Deputy's budget is. Where has it gone? What has changed in the past few days?

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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As entertaining as all this is, we are six minutes behind already, and somebody else-----

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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It is anything but entertaining.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to move on to the next question.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister will vote against all the measures we put forward in our budget-----

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I call Deputy Shortall.