John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Everyone in the House will be aware of how important the scheme to essentially pay for development levies through a waiver, introduced by the Government last April, was in boosting supply and construction, and in making sure there was no prohibitive cost for people trying to build their first home. I am talking predominantly about people in rural one-off housing, but the scheme is for anyone who is trying to build, whether it is apartment complexes or buildings in our rural communities. In County Louth, for example, the development levy cost is €11,600. That is a highly prohibitive cost to put on people at the same time as we see rising costs for building supplies, for example.

This scheme has worked very well. We have seen a huge increase in the number of commencements in the past 12 months as a result of it. As long ago as last September or October, only a couple of months after the scheme was introduced, Senators Cummins and Doherty started the process when they said in the House that perhaps the Government should try to extend this very good scheme in different ways. It should be extended right up to 2025 because that will then result in a very good boost in the number of people being able to build. That was brought home to me two or three months ago at a meeting on rural issues organised by my colleague in County Louth, Councillor Paula Butterly. The number one issue brought up at that meeting by families in rural County Louth was how successful the development waiver was and how unfair it will be, come April this year, when, like a cliff edge, the fee of €11,500 will be reintroduced in County Louth. That is why I wanted to try to bring the debate to the House.

This issue has been spoken about by a number of politicians, most recently by the now Taoiseach at the recent Fine Gael Ard-Fheis, when he said:

The waiver on development levies is working. It is making it cheaper to build and cheaper to buy. I want to work with my colleagues [in Government] to see if it can be extended.

That was said by Simon Harris only a few days ago. He made the same assessment in the Dáil when he was elected Taoiseach two days ago. I have no doubt that the momentum from the Government is moving in the direction of extending the scheme. In this Commencement debate, I am trying to impress upon the Government that we should get that announcement as soon as possible so a level of clarity is provided. If the scheme is not extended, that cliff edge will come towards the end of April.

The scheme has worked very well. I see that through my office at home in Dundalk, where many people, who are predominantly my age, are building for the first time. They are going through the entire process and are now worried about the prospect of an added cost of €11,000 being put on top of all their building requirements and building costs by the end of this month. It is crucial that we extend the scheme. It is a very good idea that has been proven to work, especially over the past 12 months, when we see how many commencements have started, particularly in rural one-off housing. I urge the Minister of State to take the message back to the Government that this is a good scheme, which has worked well, and that we desperately need to ensure it continues. We need to extend the waiver on development levies.