IFA seeks clarity over levy on precast concrete products

Vivienne Clarke

A senior policy adviser with the Irish Farmers' Association, Karol Kissane, has called for clarification on precast concrete products with regard to the concrete levy which will be implemented on concrete products from today.

Mr Kissane told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that the IFA has requested a meeting with the Minister for Finance.

The new levy will see an increase of 5 per cent on all concrete blocks and will include precast products which it had been expected would be exempt, he explained.

“We're at a time of stubbornly high inflation costs especially in construction and construction materials. And it seems like an odd timing for the government to actually be implementing a further increase on costs on hard pressed, not only farmers, but also the general public, and also even have to think about maybe buying houses or renovating or doing any work that involves concrete into the future.”

Mr Kissane said that when the levy was announced in the Budget last October, the then Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe had said that it would not apply to precast products.

Precast products are items that are manufactured in advance, usually elsewhere and would include items like cattle troughs and water tanks. Two weeks ago the Revenue Commissioners released details of how the levy would be imposed, and it transpired that precast products would be subject to the five percent levy.

Mr Kissane acknowledged that the Revenue Commissioners were implementing “exactly the letter of the law” and they were seeking a meeting with Michael McGrath to seek a return to the “spirit” of what Paschal Donohoe announced last year. The 5 per cent levy is likely to add €1,000 for farmers, he said.

“If you look back over maybe the last two or three years, concrete in general has probably gone up about 50 per cent in price. So another five percent added on to this is really making concrete products expensive for farms. It just seems a bit counterintuitive to actually be adding more expense to something that's inflated at the minute.”