Ms Mary Harney:

Well, Deputy, I think it's fair to say living standards were raised substantially during that period. The take home pay of lower income groups and middle income groups were substantially increased. We ... even in the worst day in 2007, 2008, there were 1.7 million people in work in this economy. In the late '80s, there were 900,000 people at work. So we generated huge employment, huge opportunity, reduced both unemployment and long-term unemployment, in particular. And, yes, there were issues around the property. It was among the reasons why in that election we advocated a change in stamp duty. Two people in Dublin selling an apartment, a young couple, if they were both single with an apartment worth €300,000 each, which wasn't huge in Dublin, had to pay the equivalent of more than the average industrial wage by way of stamp duty and we advocated that too. The view taken, Deputy, was a greater supply might reduce the cost. It was the shortage of housing in particular parts of Dublin, mainly to do in which the manner in which we develop housing in this city-----