Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

Taking a 20 year perspective, I would like in general terms to praise the ESRI for its medium-term reviews and reports and we should debate them when we come back. For a number of years, it has predicted a housing price crash. The price of prosperity is eternal vigilance and there are always various threats on the horizon. I agree with Senator Brian Hayes that a property tax might precipitate the very thing it is warning against. It would be totally unfair to those entering the market for the first time to pull the rug from under them by removing mortgage interest relief.

Picking up on what the Leader said in her opening contribution, and seconding the tributes that have been paid to all who service the House, including "Oireachtas Report", I noticed that it signed off last night until the Dáil comes back into plenary session. The name of the programme is "Oireachtas Report", not "Dáil Report". A shortened version should cover not just the Seanad but also committees that are in session to underline the point that the Oireachtas is working even when the Dáil is not in plenary session.