Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

Deputy Burton referred to individualisation in the tax system and the difficulties for families when both parents are forced to work outside the home. In the United States, the detrimental effects of such circumstances have been labelled "nature deficit disorder". It is increasingly the case in that society that children are deprived of both parents for the duration of every working day to such an extent that social difficulties arise when they reach their late teens. It is not something we should laugh about, because there are indications that something similar is happening here. Will the Minister bear in mind the serious problems that exist in terms of housing affordability and access, including the ability of people to move in either direction on the property ladder or to get on it in the first instance?

I wonder when the word "unit" was appropriated for the housing market. It apparently coincided with a marked decrease in the size of new homes and the space available to their unfortunate inhabitants. One could embrace some of these newer "units" with both arms.

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