Construction industry 'disappointed' with Budget measures
The Construction Industry Federation is "disappointed" Budget 2015 didn't address the high cost of building in Ireland.
Tom Parlon, Director General of the CIF, said he believes it would have helped ease the housing crisis.
"In terms of any incentive to deal with the housing supply situation on the private side, or to encourage people into the job market ... I'm disappointed - I haven't' picked up on a positive there."
Meanwhile, the Society of Chartered Surveyors welcomed some measures, but said they do not go far enough, and the Construction 2020 plan needs to be implemented immediately.
The group welcomed the allocation of €2.2bn for social housing and the extension of the Home Renovation Incentive Scheme - which was extended to the rental market too.
While we broadly welcome the range of measures introduced we would have a concern that they may not go far enough to address the housing shortage we are seeing in Dublin and other urban areas in the short term," said Pauline Daly, President of the Society.
“The SCSI has projected a requirement for 35,000 units in Dublin over the next five years or around 7,500 a year. This year, just 3,000 units are expected to be delivered which is less than half of what we need."
Elsewhere, property consultants Savills Ireland have welcomed the decision to remove the 80% windfall tax on the sale of rezoned lands.
Savills’ Director of Research, Dr John McCartney, said: "We welcome the abolition of this tax on the rezoning of land which had been an obstacle to the development of new housing. Bringing this tax into line with standard Capital Gains Tax rates will facilitate the disposal of land banks and allow sites to be sold to developers who are keen to supply new homes”.
Savills said the extension of the Home Renovation Incentive scheme will help to boost the supply of housing.
Dr McCartney said: "In our pre-Budget Submission we noted that approximately 6,000 pre-63 bedsits had effectively been removed from circulation by tightened regulatory standards.
"Today’s announcement that renovation incentives will be available to landlords should accelerate the return of these upgraded units to the market."
