Development levy waiver must be extended to ramp up construction of new homes – Doherty

A Fine Gael Senator has called on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to extend the temporary waiver of development levies to the end of 2025.

Housing for All, the Government’s multi-annual action plan to tackle the housing crisis, commits to making it cheaper to build and refurbish homes, speed up construction and drive down building costs. Ahead of Summer 2023, the Government introduced a 12-month exemption on development levies for new homes.

Senator Regina Doherty said: “Back in May, Cabinet agreed to a Development Levy Waiver Scheme. Under this Scheme, builders of new-build homes will not be required to pay a development levy, so long as the commencement of on-site work began not earlier than 25 April 2023, and not later than 24 April 2024. Instead, the local authority invoices the amount of the levy to the Government, who refund it back to the local authority.

“In the face of rising construction costs, it is essential that we continue to boost the construction of new homes, to increase supply across the board.

“Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that 8,452 new homes were completed in Quarter 3 of this year. That is an increase of 14.4% on the same three months of 2022, when a total of 7,388 units were built.

“That overall figure includes 248 homes constructed in Quarter 3 of this year between Balbriggan, Rush, Lusk, and the rest of North County Dublin.

“I have no doubt that Government action to drive down the cost of building homes is working, but we need to do more to further boost construction into the coming year. That is why I am calling on Minister Darragh O’Brien to extend the Development Levy Waiver Scheme to the end of 2025.

“We need more homes, for people to rent, and for people to buy and own. That is why we are building more new homes across North County Dublin and across the country, and it is why in Government we are introducing measures to ensure construction of new homes is spread up”, concluded Senator Doherty.