Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move recommendation No. 29:

In page 153, in line 13, to delete all words from and including "amended—" down to and including line 37, to delete pages 154 to 158, and in page 159, to delete lines 1 to 34 and substitute the following: "repealed.".

This recommendation simply proposes to repeal the defective concrete products levy. Recommendation No. 30 calls for a report on the impact of the levy on construction costs and the viability and affordability of housing projects.

As the ESRI has said, the burden of the levy will likely fall on residents of newly built homes, not to mention the financial implications it will have for those trying to remediate affected properties. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, SCSI, has said that given the shortage of construction workers, spiralling construction costs and rising interest rates, it is vital that the Government does everything possible to drive down construction costs. According to the CSO, since the levy was first legislated for in November 2021, the price of cement has increased by 37%, ready-mix mortar and concrete by 38% and concrete blocks and bricks by 30%. The SCSI has stated: "[T]to tackle rising costs of construction, including the most recent material and labour hyperinflation, every facet of the input costs of residential development needs to be reduced." That is what the SCSI is calling for. It provisionally estimates that the levy will increase the cost of a typical three-bedroom semi-detached house by €1,200. Since then, in September 2022, the CSO has stated that the price of cement had increased by 15%, ready-mix mortar and concrete by 14% and concrete blocks and bricks by 13%. The levy just does not make sense.