Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

The Tánaiste is an intelligent man, but I do not know whether he realises fully the damage being done to the home, the family and the structure of society as we know it. The new generation is being driven out of Dublin city and forced to commute long distances from all over the country when travelling to the city in the morning and returning home at night. They are being forced to jam our roads, which is the traffic we are seeing. I cannot understand why the Government does not recognise this fact and take the measures suggested to correct it.

My colleague, Deputy Barrett, observed that in a ten-month period, house prices in a particular development increased by €60,000 to €80,000. That is nothing. There are countless instances throughout the State where house prices have increased by the same amount between morning and evening. Such houses are advertised in the morning and having been viewed by one or two potential buyers, any who come later, are told the houses advertised at the original price are sold and those in the next batch will cost €50,000 more.

The Government has been the most serious beneficiary of the housing inflation that has affected our economy in recent years. Nothing was done to arrest that inflation. The Government cannot continue indefinitely to be a beneficiary in such circumstances. The Minister's former colleague and former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, was of the view that the Government does not need the revenue from stamp duty. Does he know something we do not, or does the Minister for Finance know something he is not telling us and which may prevent him from moving on this issue? Has he divine inspiration or does he know anything at all?

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