Dr. Kieran McQuinn:

We have spent much time thinking about this over the years. There are many elements of house building over which the Government does not have a huge amount of control. Certain inputs are by and large determined by international prices. We are already seeing evidence of that in the way the energy crisis has impacted housing elements. One area where the Government can impact and to which attention needs to be devoted is the treatment of land. We talked about the site value tax and the potential for it to be merged. The Commission on Taxation is looking at the extent to which it can be merged with the new residential zoned tax. It is important we continue to stimulate the supply of land in that way. Taking a more long-term perspective on this, an interesting report was done by TASC last summer which addressed the land market quite comprehensively.

We need to think about it seriously because many State agents are back in the house-building game, which we all welcome. However, between the approved housing bodies, local authorities which are coming back into the game and the Land Development Agency, we need to be careful we do not have different agents collectively pushing up the demand for land. There is also a private market for land. How we use, regulate and provide land is an important issue and an area where Government can have an impact on reducing the cost, ultimately. It is over a longer term and will not happen today or tomorrow.