Beverley Flynn (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I do not believe any bank in my constituency would accept an exchange of property as part of a deal on the sale of a house. As this does not appear to be a positive measure, I make a suggestion. I checked the information on my constituency of Mayo today, where there are 1,704 on the housing list. We have 40,000 unsold units in the housing market, many of which may be taken over by NAMA and sold in getting rid of toxic debt. We should buy up some of these houses now so as to reduce the number of unsold housing units. The Government could borrow €3 billion to purchase 20,000 units which would reduce the unsold housing stock by half. It could pay the money back over ten years. If it was repaid at a rate of 5%, it would cost the Government €315 million per annum, but the reduction in rent supplement being paid would help in reducing this. In addition, the average rent of €100 per week for people in social housing would bring in an additional €104 million in income for local government which sorely needs these funds. We are all aware of sewerage and water schemes that have not been able to go ahead because of the shortage of funds at local authority level. I urge the Minister to consider this measure.

I have also suggested to the Minister that the amount of VAT tied up in the remainder of the unsold housing units is significant. It would be better to get in as much of this VAT now and use it at a time it is needed. If what we received only amounted to 60% to 65% of the VAT payable, it should be used to try to encourage young first-time buyers to buy a house within the next 12 months so as to stimulate growth and the economy. I say this as someone who comes from a constituency where some 9,000 construction workers are out of work. County Mayo has one of the largest proportions of construction workers in the country and unemployment is a problem. I am not talking about high rollers but about carpenters, electricians and blocklayers, people who find themselves in great difficulty.

I welcome the fact that the Minister has said discussions are ongoing with the car industry. It is interesting that in all counties more people work in the car industry than in the banks. Before the supplementary budget was introduced, SIMI suggested a car scrappage scheme, coupled with VAT proposals relating to the sale of second-hand cars. I note the point the Minister made with regard to changes in VAT but urge him to re-examine introducing a car scrappage scheme in conjunction with the VAT changes. Such an approach worked very successfully in Germany. I know both economies are in recession, but in Germany a €2,500 trade-in price for a car more than nine years old resulted in an increase of 21% in the sale of new cars. This is something that should be considered. I am aware that the Minister said previously that in order to be viable such a measure would require the sale of 20,000 new cars, but it should be considered.

I would like to touch on section 17 and the exemption from the air travel tax for small airports. During the debate on the previous Finance Bill I welcomed the fact that the Minister had reduced the air travel tax from €10 to €2 for regional airports such as Knock. I ask that this charge be done away with. There should be no travel tax at airports such as Knock. People assume that the airport at Knock depends on operational subsidies but this is not the case. Ireland West Airport is a low-cost, profitable, independent airport that receives no operational subsidy and 97% of its traffic is directed to 28 international destinations. Its success works against it because being in profit it receives no State operational support but the introduction of this travel tax will result in a reduction in tourism numbers and, therefore, the Government needs to revisit this issue.

The Minister for Finance should examine the introduction of a Government bond for citizens. I do not have time to explain the concept now but I will try to do so during Private Member's Business later this evening. Instead of looking for funding internationally, the Government might look to its own people. For those who have money, the average amount of savings has gone up from 3.8% to 8% in the past 12 months. Many people may like to play their part in the recovery of our economy instead of the Government's seeking money on the international markets.

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