Tax on profits in wider industry and not an extra cost to ordinary people urged as way of financing redress schemes
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy today said Ireland should scrap the concrete block levy which would simply be passed onto to ordinary people and instead tax the profits of the wider industry.
He rejected claims that it was no longer possible to go after those guilty of building defective apartments or using defective materials in the sector, saying:
“The truth is many of the same directors, shareholders and developers who made huge profits during the Celtic Tiger era by ignoring existing regulations and building these defective homes are still active. Some are even getting new public contacts. It’s not impossible to pursue them but there is no political will among Fianna Fail or Fine Gael to do so.”
The TD said an immediate solution to deal with financing redress schemes including the costs of defective apartments was a general levy on the wider industry from the profits declared.
He added: “The UK has just done this in relation to the cost of defective materials in buildings after the Grenfell fire. It’s entirely possible to do the same here if the political will exists.”