Mr. Aidan O'Hogan:

It used to be that the site would be a third of the total cost. It is difficult to express the building cost of a house now because it is relative to value, but it is approximately between €100 and €150 per sq. ft. If the Chairman builds a 1,000 sq. ft. house, it will cost between €100,000 and €150,000 to construct.

In counties Cavan, Leitrim or Monaghan, one can buy houses of 1,000 sq. ft. for €50,000 or €60,000. This is way below the construction cost and takes no account of the cost of the financing, site costs and levies for development. That is likely to continue. We will see those prices increase significantly this year once people have confidence that prices are moving. Whether one pays €50,000 or €55,000 for a house is not the issue, because when one goes to build a new house one is talking about €110,000.