Mr. Gary Tobin:

I apologise if I misunderstood the Senator's question. Certainly from our perspective, some of this may be more appropriate to our colleagues in the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. I would contend that the State is already very involved in the housing market in Ireland and I would be concerned that when we make interventions in the housing market, there tend to be quite a lot of unforeseen consequences. It is not only with this Bill that we think there could be unforeseen consequences; it is always a risk when one is dealing with the property market. I am not sure that the Department of Finance would be recommending any further intervention in the property market right now.