John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A number of general comments were made, but there were also a couple of specific questions. I will add to Deputy Coppinger's point on rent regulation and the vested interest about which Professor Drudy has written. Will he comment on it? He set out some recommendations, which are always useful to the committee. His last recommendation was that the right to housing should be enshrined in legislation and the Constitution. There are two parts to that. First, would that have had a different effect in terms of rent regulation and what the Minister was able to do? Second, the then Minister clearly told the committee a number of weeks ago that he felt restricted in what he could do about the vacant property site tax. Would he have had more scope had the right to housing been enshrined in the Constitution?

Professor Drudy made the point that a "substantial land tax or capital gains tax should be imposed on "unearned" price increases of land zoned and serviced for housing." I favour a land tax approach over a capital gains tax one, particularly as we are trying to encourage activity rather than waiting for something to occur and then charging a tax. Would these issues be more easily addressed under Professor Drudy's suggestion regarding the Constitution?