Builders are unhappy with a new State subsidy – despite the intention to make up to EUR 144 000 available per new apartment they construct outside Dublin.
In fact, developers were underwhelmed by the EUR 450 million Croí Cónaithe cities fund, not having lobbied for it or being sure of guaranteed profits underpinned by the fund. They would rather have a tax incentive.
But the point of the scheme is to kick-start the construction of up to 5 000 apartments in the Dublin area where planning permission is granted but building has stalled because of high costs. Those who want to apply for the State subsidy must show that it’s worth the investment based on the cost of the building and the sales goal.
Developers building in the regional cities can motivate for EUR 144 000. Otherwise, the national maximum is set at EUR 120 000 per apartment.
The current housing shortage means many more apartments need to be built in Dublin, Cork and other cities. But high construction costs make this near impossible. The subsidy is designed to ease the way forward.
But Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that having spoken to construction companies and developers recently, “they aren’t happy with this” – this is not the scheme that they would have organised or arranged. They would have preferred some sort of tax break or a tax incentive and they’re not particularly enamoured by the Government scheme. So I think it’s fair to say that this was not done for them nor was it the scheme that they would have designed for themselves.”