Speaking in an interview with Gript this week alongside Aontú leader Peadar Toibín, Smyth said that if elected to the Dáil later this month, he would push for a zero VAT rate on building materials in an effort to reduce construction costs and increase housing supply.
Aontú’s Dublin Central by-election candidate Ian Noel Smyth has said that, as an architect, he is an expert on housing issues, arguing that “none of the other candidates can say that.”
Smyth said that housing would be his “main priority” if elected, while also pointing to concerns around the cost of living, fuel prices, mental health, and crime in Dublin city.
“I want to help resolve the housing crisis,” he said.
“Deal with the cost of living crisis, deal with the fuel crisis, and deal with mental health issues and crime in the city. I mean housing…I am an architect by profession, so I am actually an expert in this area, something that the sitting TDs aren’t.
“Part of the reason that we’re in this housing crisis for the last fourteen years is it has been created by the sitting government – by complete ineptitude and ideological problems in dealing with the housing and actually creating common-sense solutions towards them.”
Smyth said he would advocate for a number of changes to housing policy if elected, including removing all VAT on materials and increasing the number of construction workers operating in Ireland.
“So, I would be pushing for a zero rate on VAT on materials,” he continued.
“I would be pushing for getting the builders back to Ireland, because there is not enough of them that are actually building. You need builders to build, so let’s get people back to work.”
He added: “I am a worker; I think the people should vote for the worker that gets stuff done. And someone that is actually an expert in housing…none of the other candidates can say that.”
The Aontú candidate also pointed to his educational background in Dublin’s north inner city and his studies in architecture and urbanism at Trinity College Dublin.
“I have been educated in North Inner City in all the technology schools, went to Trinity, studied urbanism, studied architecture,” Smyth said.
“So, I am the viable candidate, so that’s why they should vote for me.”
Smyth also argued that Ireland’s planning system was too slow and cumbersome, claiming that developers and construction firms were increasingly pursuing projects abroad due to delays in securing approvals.
“The whole system is far too cumbersome and too slow,” he said.
“You can be wrapped up in the planning system for years. This is hence why an awful lot of construction companies and developers are moving abroad, because they can get projects across the line quicker and cheaper, and time is money.”
He said that projects could remain in the planning system for “two or three years” without progress, and argued that the overall process should be significantly accelerated.
“So, we need to fasten the process massively in Ireland,” Smyth said.
“So, you know, it should be a one-stop shop. You get planning, you get your construction drawings done, you get your tendering, your procurement all sorted out within a year max on any big project.”
Smyth also said he believed local authorities should become more directly involved in housing construction again, including employing architects, engineers, and surveyors internally.
“I believe that the council should go back to the way it used to be and actually be directly involved truly in the building of houses,” he said.
“And have the architects, the engineers, the surveyors, the assigned arbitrators and assistants to actually build internally properly.”
During the interview, Smyth was also asked about his previous involvement with the Green Party and debates surrounding environmental objections to infrastructure projects.
Smyth said that while he did not regret joining the party at the time, he no longer believed it was the right vehicle for addressing what he described as more pressing issues.
“There are other more serious problems, and I have to try and I want to help solve them,” he said.
“I didn’t feel I was getting to do that within the Green Party, and I believe that Aontú can actually help here in this regard, to solve these problems. Because, you know, when it comes to housing, everybody wants a house.”
Aontú leader Peadar Toibín also spoke during the interview, describing his party as “one of the fastest-growing political parties in this country” and arguing that voters should consolidate behind Aontú in the by-election.
“I think a big danger in the upcoming by-election is that the vote is too scattered amongst the opposition candidates and it doesn’t crystallise on one candidate,” Toibín said.
“If that’s the case, there’s a danger that the government could sneak through.”
Toibín also said that Aontú had focused on what he described as “bread-and-butter issues” such as fuel costs and housing.
“I think the soft Left have forgotten about the bread-and-butter issues,” he said.
“They have been distracted by the culture wars, the virtue-signalling in terms of identity politics, etc.”
Smyth is an architect and former Green Party member who has previously contested elections in Dublin Central in 2016, 2020 and 2024, along with local elections in 2014 and 2024.