Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)

I presume the Minister of State does not believe the script he has just read. He would not want to be influenced by what lending institutions might give because they have their own agenda. Is the Minister of State aware of another report published in the past month, which shows that key public workers, including gardaí, teachers and nurses, are being priced out of the housing market in four of the five largest cities in the State, Dublin, Cork, Galway and Waterford? I ask the Minister of State to consider establishing a special unit in his Department to deal solely with this issue and not to read out the irrelevant details he has just given us.

That unit should tackle changing the stamp duty regime whereby first-time buyers buying houses costing more than €317,500 are subject to the full amount of stamp duty on the houses. This adds considerably to the dilemma and hardship of first-time buyers. Between all charges, those buyers are paying the Government up to 50% of the cost of the house. Stamp duty alone adds from €20,000 to €40,000 to the price of a house for a first-time buyer. Does the Minister of State agree with the Tánaiste, who believes that the Government no longer wants the €2 billion it raises from stamp duty? Would he consider abolishing stamp duty for first-time buyers in accordance with the Fine Gael policy?

See this speech in context