The decision to abolish the first-time buyer's grant and increase mortgage interest relief will result in a more effective system than that currently in place. Senator McDowell has argued that there is no great long-term difference between the two approaches as the new benefits will be built into the price of houses. I could argue, as officials in the Central Bank do, that reductions in interest rates encourage more people to participate in the property market. One of the objections to a reduction in interest rates in Ireland which is part of the global market is that it would further stimulate the housing market. The independent central bank in the United Kingdom, under the governorship of Eddie George, has been quite reluctant to reduce interest rates in recent years, although it has changed its position recently. It has always referred to the effect of such a move on the housing market, which is understandable in the light of the upturn in the housing market there in the 1980s. One could argue, similarly, that reducing interest rates creates more demand.