Tax breaks for developers to increase the number of new builds “simply don’t work”, Sinn Féin has argued. 

Yesterday on Newstalk Breakfast, Tánaiste Simon Harris said he was “open” to tax breaks for developers if it helps the Government hit its housing targets. 

“If it is very targeted, if it is fully focused on viability issues and then if we are crystal clear, ‘That’s it, get on with it, build us the homes, build us the apartments’,” the Fine Gael leader said. 

“We do need policy certainty in this area; we have taken a number of big calls - some people will agree with them, some people will disagree with them.”

Today, Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said tax breaks for developers would be a waste of money. 

 “Tax breaks are hugely expensive and they simply don’t work,” the Dublin Mid-West told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“We know that because there’s already a whole slew of tax breaks available for developers - including for apartment developers. 

“There’s also incredible tax arrangements for institutional investors in the private rental sector.” 

New homes under construction at Kilcarbery Grange in Dublin. Picture by: Alamy.com. 

Deputy Ó Broin added that the cost of building homes does have to be reduced; however, he argued that there are better ways to do this than through tax breaks. 

“People aren’t asking for tax breaks, what they want is low cost finance, they want access to serviced and zoned land,” he said. 

“When they’re looking at developing high density urban developments, they also need additional supports - all of which are about supporting residential developers. 

“So, there are better policy approaches that cost less and actually deliver more.” 

New housing in Kildare. Picture by: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie. 

Also on the programme, Conor O’Connell of the Construction Industry Federation said he "absolutely" believes that tax breaks for developers would help build more homes. 

“The scale of the challenge in front of us is that we need to deliver 300,000 units between now and 2030,” he said. 

“These are not our figures, these are the State’s figures given the very significant population growth Ireland is currently facing. 

“We need to use every policy instrument available to us and one of the more significant policy instruments is in relation to taxation for residential delivery. 

“Especially in the context where 40% - or 50% depending on the location - of the units constructed will be apartments.” 

Mr O’Connell continued that apartments in particular are “very, very difficult” and expensive to build. 

“So, in order to attract private sector capital back into Ireland to fund apartment construction and all types of other construction, we do need to reduce the cost of delivery,” he said. 

Last year, 30,330 new homes were built in Ireland - fewer than the 32,525 completed in 2023.

Main image: Simon Harris in a hard hat. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy.com.