24 October-November 2025
Plastic-bag tax for developers
By Michael Smith
T
here is friction in Cabinet between
Minister for Finance, Paschal
Donohoe who is generally
reassuringly sceptical of new tax
expenditures for developers and
prefers targeted, time-limited or “activation”
taxes; Fianna Fáil can’t help itself from
championing subsidies/reliefs alongside state
delivery.Meanwhile VAT on apartments is to be
cut to 9% and the Help to Buy scheme
extended. It’s all utterly unradical in the fact of
a recognised crisis of quantity and an untold
crisis of quality.
But here’s a possible win-win that takes the
bastard out of developer making them and
their schemes a vehicle for quality of life.
The aim is simple: only reward projects that
measurably improve the environment and
strengthen communities, so the public — not
short-term private gain — benefits. Imagine
developers cast as civic heroes because every
scheme must enhance place, nature and social
fabric to qualify for fiscal support.
How it works
We start with proper plans and enforceable
standards, shaped and overseen by the right
people — especially local communities. The
core mechanism is fiscal. Replace today’s
patchwork of development taxes, grants and
subsidies with a single, transparent incentive
that rises or falls with performance against
sustainability and community criteria. In
parallel, penalise “bad” development (“tax
bad things”), recycling the proceeds to reward
excellence — much as Ireland’s plastic-bag
levy shifted behaviour quickly and sustainably.
To make this real, create structures alongside
local authorities that assess projects
holistically — social and environmental eects
as well as economic ones. Decision-making
should become collaborative, evidence-led
and common-good-obsessed: providing
incentives for sustainability; penalties for the
wrong scheme in the wrong place; and
demanding binding Framework Plans and
continuous monitoring of clever indicators.
The fiscal detail
The Department of Finance needs to scrap
development-based grants, levies and tax
breaks (e.g., VAT on building products, site
levies, CAT/CGT on projects, infrastructure
subsidies) and replace them with a marks-
based incentive. Each development is scored
against, say, 50 criteria, each out of 10, making
500 points total. Higher scores attract larger
NEWS
tax incentives; mediocre or harmful projects
get little or nothing.
Unlike the discredited scattergun incentives
of the Upper Shannon or the excrescences
along Dublin’s quays, this scheme rewards
only quality and sustainability.
Roundtables and Framework
Plans
The Department of Housing should legislate so
planning rests on cross-sectoral “roundtables”:
10–15 people — community and residents
representatives, planners, local officials,
councillors, developers, shopkeepers,
environmentalists, trade unionists, tourism
voices and others — facilitated to reach
practical agreement. When such a balanced
group reaches consensus, the outcome is far
likelier to be sustainable and democratically
legitimate. Balanced social, economic and
environmental input generates balanced
social, economic and environmental outputs
otherwise known as sustainable development.
Broad, representative membership insulates
decisions from capture and builds a sense of
participation.
Once an area is designated, the roundtable
would draft a detailed Framework Plan. It
should stipulate: (1) no-go sites (beauty spots,
green belts, protected structures for
demolition), and (2) what should go where, at
what heights and densities. Roundtables
decide which sites are eligible for tax-
incentivised development and the appropriate
types of scheme. Complementing them is an
expert certifying body that verifies whether
specific projects qualify for incentives —
something akin to Temple Bar Renewal in the
1990s, but broader. Not-for-profit initiatives,
including integrated social housing, should be
actively encouraged.
What gets measured
Indicative criteria (out of 500 total) might
include:
A. Design
Architectural flair and fit to setting •Respect for
positive local character • Durable, attractive
exterior materials; good detailing• Sustainable
materials; high energy eciency • Intelligent
orientation and sunlight/daylight access
B. Facilities
Private and semi-private open space •On-site
sports/leisure facilities •Residents’ crèche
• Adequate storage
C. Community impact
Balanced mix of residential, retail and
commercial; for housing, a good bedroom and
social mix • Public open space and publicly
accessible sport/leisure • High-quality
landscaping; active, human-scaled streets •
Community linkage: local jobs and housing
pathways • Minimal intrusion on neighbours’
privacy
Planning permission and
incentives
The statutory planning system should remain:
every scheme must meet criteria of “proper
planning and sustainable development” (and
ideally, design excellence). But fiscal incentives
should be conditional: no compliance with the
roundtable’s Framework Plan, no incentive.
That alignment turns plans into enforceable
levers rather than shelf documents.
Monitor and adjust
From the outset, and regularly thereafter, there
should be tracking of indicators such as crime
and unemployment rates, air and noise
pollution, population mix, the pattern of
planning permissions, open-space provision
and residents’ perceived quality of life. If
indicators flag problems, the roundtable
revises the Framework Plan or the scoring and
incentives. In other words, management by
data, with democratic oversight.
The dividend
With harmful development penalised and
excellence rewarded, quality rapidly becomes
the norm. The fiscal lever is clear, the rules are
public, and the process is collaborative. The
result is development that consistently
enhances place, biodiversity and social
cohesion. Financing good planning becomes
a disciplined practice — almost a science —
focused on measurable quality of life. That is
sustainable development in action: win-win for
communities, nature and the economy.
Roundtable Governance
Cross-sector, locally led
Sustainable Development - Incentive System
Plans & Standards
Enforceable, quality-of-life-first
Framework Plan
Sites • Use Height • Density
Criteria Scoring
50 criteria x 10 points (500 max)
Expert Certification
Project eligibility verified
Sustainable Incentive Engine
Reward excellence • Tax harmful development
Monitoring Indicators
Crime • Jobs • Mix • Air • QoL
Outcomes
Environment • Community

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