Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

It would be a turn of events if we did get answers but I hope to get an answer to this question. Will the Taoiseach respond to what I heard clearly from a number of teachers at an INTO conference, that in trying to buy a house, even after six years teaching they could only borrow a maximum of €200,000. They were expected to come up with an additional €150,000 from somewhere. I do not know what is the answer to where those teachers can get the additional €150,000 under the Taoiseach's watch, unless he recommends to them a course of action I would not recommend, namely the Tom and MickBailey approach.

According to today's newspapers, while our earning power is up, a fifth of the population face a poverty trap. The earning power of some of the supporters of Fianna Fáil is extraordinary. What message does it send to people who ask how they are expected to afford a basic house in the Ireland of 2006 when they see Mick and TomBailey paying €25 million to the Revenue Commissioners, which is effectively a fine, yet the Taoiseach welcomes them to the Fianna Fáil tent in the Galway Races? What message does it send when a Minister of State like Deputy Fahey is able to avoid tax in building up a multi-million euro property empire? In 2005 his empire included——

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