Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is correct that a lot of wealth in Ireland is represented by family homes. However, very often there is no strong connection between the asset value of a family home and the income of the people in the household. Once one passes Newlands Cross a lot of the wealth in the country is represented by farm land. While a person with 100 acres of land worth approximately €10,000 an acre would have an asset worth € 1 million, that is the asset value. The income stream for the person concerned, in particular if involved in dry stock or beef production, would be low. Also, as the asset passes from generation to generation, to deem people like that to be extraordinarily wealthy-----

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