Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

When does the Taoiseach expect the report of the all-party Oireachtas committee on building land and property rights? Does he agree some of us have been raising this issue with him for seven years and that it is now an extremely urgent task? In light of his legislative commitment some moments ago, will the Taoiseach give a commitment to put a constitutional referendum to the people if the all-party committee finds that a constitutional amendment is necessary to control the price of building land? Will he accept that this is an urgent issue in view of the fact that the free hand given to land speculators in Dublin over the full duration of his two Governments has meant that young working people are shackled with massive mortgages for the next 30 years and that for 15 of those 30 years those people will be paying not for bricks and mortar but for the obscene profits of land speculators? Will the Taoiseach agree that the legislation or a constitutional referendum is extremely urgent? Will he give a commitment that this problem will be resolved in a matter of months?

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