Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

He is right in saying that is the average house price but, of course, the average varies hugely depending on the part of the country. We are constantly reviewing the issue. He set this out in his pre-budget submission and this was an area on which the Minister agreed with him in terms of trying to get more in this area. In 2009 the effective tax rate was 20%, then 25%, later 30% and now 33% right across property taxes. The question is always how much more we can obtain from this area in a circumstance where asking prices have not moved significantly in recent years. I want to be honest with the Deputy. We are constantly reviewing the issue and will do so again in the context of next year's budget. I am a great believer in making sure that any tax change gets more money in rather than lessens the amount. The whole objective is to get the money in. While the increases from 25% to 33% in recent years have been radical, there may be potential for further increases or, equally, in terms of lowering of the thresholds. We will keep that under constant review.