Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)

I would not liken this resolution with the incentives and the tax reliefs that were available in the past. I welcome the resolution. I hope that it will create a stimulus in the property market. None of us wants there to be a return to the crazy property bubble that we had and we know that will never happen. I believe that in a small way this is a helpful measure and that is why I will support it.

While there may be people wishing to purchase property, the elephant in the room is that nobody can get access to money because the banks are shut down in terms of lending money. While I appreciate this measure, people who might want to make a move and buy a property, be it a commercial or a private property, are unable to do so unless they have the money in their back pockets. No one can get money in this country at present to purchase any such property. That is a major challenge and difficulty facing the Government and all of us.

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