Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Deputy Kennedy is a great survivor from the old Dublin County Council. Let us not get into tribunals now. I would not advise the Deputy or his party to talk about land values or rezoning. The Government must take responsibility for what happened in the housing market. The short-termism of winning votes in the general election led the Minister, his Department and financial regulators to turn a blind eye to what was happening in the financial and housing markets. The measures he introduced today to offer additional mortgage interest relief are welcome, but we need measures to control speculation in housing land. People's homes are for living in, not for speculative frenzy. If the Government were not so deep in vested interest to land and property speculators, it would already have addressed this issue.

The fall in house prices is accompanied by rising rents. How is that for crazy economics? Only in Ireland — we usually say "only in America". This reflects the impact uncertainty is having on the market. There is a strong underlying demand for housing, but first-time buyers in particular are wary of making such a major purchase in a falling market. It is hard to see where this will end and when prices will level out. There is a substantial downturn in construction. The level of activity and employment in the housing sector was always unsustainable, but the uncertainty on house prices means the number of houses being built is falling rapidly. I did not see in the Budget Statement the Minister's estimate of the number of houses to be built. I do not know if we will get it but it seemed to be falling below 50,000. I could not find it in the book so I do not know what the Minister expects.

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