Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy. It is always those with large mortgages, probably in the first three to five years, who bear the pressures. Given the level of increases we need to do all we can to moderate them. We have an increasing population with a strong disposable income and low money costs. When Jean-Claude Trichet said interest rates could be increased from 0.25% to 0.5% that applies pressure but the reality is that a decade ago people felt that if we could get money under 10% it was viable to have substantial mortgages. The argument I was making is that things changed so dramatically that the public do not see these fears as my generation or a later generation saw them. That is the reason people continue to put their money into property. Even if I tried to put a tax on property it would fail because there would be neither political nor public support for such a tax. Therefore, the incentive is for people to put more money into property which sometimes is all right but much of the time it is all wrong. That is the reality.

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