Changes to the planned Concrete Levy show the right hand of Government does not know what the left hand is doing.

That is according to The Hard Shoulder host Kieran Cuddihy, who was reacting as the levy is set to be reduced.

The Defective Concrete Products Levy, announced in Budget 2023, is now set to be a 5% charge instead of 10%.

It will apply to concrete pouring and concrete blocks, and will come into effect in September of next year instead of April.

Kieran said this shows the Government is lacking in joined up thinking.

A general view of construction work on an affordable housing scheme in Dublin. Picture by: PA Images/Alamy

"They have halved the levy and they have delayed its introduction; it might never come to fruition at all," he said.

"It is remarkable, though, that it is still official policy as of today to introduce this levy - a levy that will be passed on to the homebuyer to make houses more expensive.

"At the same time we've a housing crisis, and we've a former minister for housing and deputy leader of Fine Gael and a senior Cabinet minister - in Simon Coveney - according to reports behind the scenes suggesting there should be tax breaks for developers.

"His argument is that it does not make economic sense to tax something you want more of.

"So we've got Simon Coveney talking about reducing costs for developers, while it is official Government policy to increase the cost for developers - and by extension the the cost for homebuyers.

"Does this Government know what it is doing? Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing?

"The evidence would suggest the answer to that is absolutely not; and everybody out there, feeling the pinch of the housing crisis, they're the ones who suffer from the confusion," he added.