Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

The facts do not speak for themselves. House prices have decreased by 5% in the past year. The tax take is down as regards stamp duty. The Minister is forgetting that stamp duty is part of a basket of taxes. If it is not collected in respect of houses, neither is VAT. We talk about stamp duty and CGT holding at 15% but that is not the case. The Minister must reform this area. During the election campaign Fine Gael put forward an extremely pragmatic proposal——

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