Sinn Féin is urging the Government to scrap its flawed and counterproductive levy on concrete products which is due to come into effect from 01 September.

The party's spokesperson on Finance Pearse Doherty said the Government’s levy would increase housing and building costs and would ultimately be fall on home buyers and those struggling to remediate their homes.

He said: "The Government plan to push ahead with their flawed and counterproductive levy on concrete products from 1stSeptember, even despite all the warnings that this levy will result in higher housing and building costs for workers and families.

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"In effect this levy will amount to a tax on new homes.

"When every effort should be made to reduce the cost of home building, with over 12,000 people living in emergency accommodation, this levy will increase the cost.

"This is at a time when the State is expected to record a combined surpluses of more than €56 billion in the coming years.

"It is estimated that the levy will increase the cost of building a 3-bed semi detached property by up to €1,200.

"The Government's own analysis of the impact of the levy is based on late 2022.

"According to the CSO, the price of ready-mix concrete and concrete blocks has risen by 8 percent since then.

"In the past two years the cost of ready-mix concrete has risen by 44 percent while the cost of concrete blocks has risen by 31 percent.

"This month the Society for Chartered Surveyors warned that concrete prices continue to rise.

"It is clear that the Government’s levy on concrete products was ill-conceived and badly designed, with its cost set to be shouldered by already struggling homebuyers.

"This is why the ESRI have said the proposed levy doesn't make sense, with the burden likely to fall on residents of newly built homes rather than the industry."