Minister confirms concrete levy will go ahead to reduce €6bn bill for housing defects

The €6bn is to help homeowners whose houses have been destroyed by defective blocks and to bring 100,000 apartments up to fire safety standards

Mr Donohoe said he is “absolutely standing behind” the principle of a levy to help cover the €2.7bn cost of dealing with the mica crisis.

The taxpayer is facing a bill of €6bn to help homeowners whose houses have been destroyed by defective blocks and to bring 100,000 apartments up to fire safety standards.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has confirmed the Finance Bill will include a new levy on concrete, in an effort to reduce some of the burden on taxpayers, despite Fianna Fáil TDs previously claiming it was “dead in the water”.