Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Section 42 extends the capital gains tax relief on property purchases up to the end of 2014. Something appears to be happening in the property market and I am sure the Minister of State has seen the latest figures from the CSO today which show that in the 12 months to the end of October, there was a 14.6% increase in prices in Dublin, with an 18% increase in the price of apartments. I am trying to get to the bottom of the Government's motivation. Is it to clear the excess stock? Clearly, this provision is designed for investors because there is no capital gains tax liability on the sale of a family home once it has been occupied and so forth. In the next section we can contrast this relief with the relief the Government is proposing for entrepreneurs, but I would like to know what its rationale is and what it is seeking to do in the property market and on property prices.