Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is absolutely no basis on which the Minister can say this measure pushes up house prices. It is in place for persons who are being absolutely ripped off by banks, in which the Minister is the majority shareholder. They are charging twice the interest rates being charged by our European competitors and the Minister sits there and does absolutely nothing about it. That is nonsense. The very same Minister brought forward and supported the help-to-buy scheme and in this Finance Bill is seeking to bring forward tax reliefs for landlords which will do exactly what we have argued against and push up house prices.

How did the Minister deliver that with a straight face? It blows my mind that he can stand there and say this support is not needed, or that it would actually increase house prices or cause difficulties when from 1 January the cost of a mortgage for more than 400,000 people is going to increase. It is nonsense.

To Deputy Michael McGrath I say this is the time when you call a spade a spade. If he is opposed to this measure, he should not have supported it in the Finance Act 2017 and should not have abstained. The position-----

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