Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

One of the worst inflationary pressures on individuals and families relates to house prices. The gap has widened hugely between personal disposable income and the price of a house, and is now at a ratio of 11:1. Will the Taoiseach take any corrective action on the matter? We have heard a number of announcements from the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, and the Tánaiste all saying different things. The Taoiseach is on the record as saying people should buy, and would be foolish not to buy and listen to the naysayers as he calls them, although others might call them experts. Effectively the Taoiseach is talking up the housing market with his comments.

The Tánaiste has said the Government would abolish stamp duty, which has had a knock-on effect — he suggested the Government has so much money that it does not know what to do with it. The Minister for Finance said he would not interfere, despite all the property tax breaks that have certainly interfered with the market over the years. Will the Taoiseach make a clear statement of Government policy on the matter that will address the problems people are facing rather than having this Dutch auction politics, in which even Fine Gael has involved itself, trying to undercut each other with policies on stamp duty? Nothing will be done about house prices as a result of that. Any auctioneer will advise that there is a stalling of the market as it waits to ascertain whether any of these things will happen. Over the past two years my colleague, Deputy Boyle, the Green Party's finance spokesperson, has proposed targeted reforms to the stamp duty regime that would benefit older persons who wish to downsize — they should be facilitated — and people with disabilities who need to move house for accessibility reasons.

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