FINANCE MINISTER PASCHAL Donohoe has today strongly come out against the reintroduction of celtic tiger-style tax breaks for property developers. 

The comments from the Fine Gael minister signal that the two government parties are at odds in their approach to tackling the housing crisis. 

Last week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told reporters that the Government is exploring possible tax breaks for private housing developers in a bid to boost supply.

Speaking today in Brussels, Donohoe appeared to push back against such proposals. 

“What I’m not going to do is reintroduce or propose the very tax reliefs that did such harm to our economy and the building of homes for many years in Ireland,” he said.

He noted that broad tax reliefs for developers, such as what is known as Section 23 relief, have proven to be “very, very costly”.

“And we’ve already acknowledged that it’s very difficult to identify how they can be targeted. I don’t believe those policies are the ways in which we will make progress in the delivery of more homes,” Donohoe said.

The Section 23 tax relief gave property investors generous tax breaks for renovating or buying properties for the rental market before the 2008 crash. 

These properties were largely in inner city areas. 

Investor and property groups have been lobbying the government to reintroduce such relief in recent times, arguing that it would help increase housing supply and the supply of rental properties specifically. 

Last week, when asked about what tax breaks are being explored, Taoiseach Micheál Martin made the point that he wants to see supply stimulated on brownfield sites in cities. These are sites that were previously developed but are no longer in use. 

Later today, a Cabinet sub committee on housing will meet to discuss proposed solutions to the housing crisis. 

Last week, Tánaiste Simon Harris revealed that a revised Housing for All plan would be published by Government.

The announcement signals a possible shift in Government policy after it fell short of its housing delivery targets for last year. 

The target was to build 40,000 homes in 2024, but only 30,300 were built. 

A recent report from Davy Stockbrokers found that 90,000 homes need to be built in Ireland every year to 2031 to meet demand.