Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

Thank you very much, a Chathaoirligh.

A report published by a financial consultant last week showed that house prices in Dublin have become so exorbitant that the average public servant — a teacher, garda, nurse or other public servant — cannot afford to buy a house there. Most young public servants now have to live 40 or 50 miles from the city. Does the Government have a view on the scheme that has been in place in the United Kingdom for the past 15 years? I refer to the London weighting system, whereby public servants who live in the capital city and have to buy a house there are given an additional allowance with their pay as a means of helping them to afford a mortgage. There would be some merit in a proposal to establish a Dublin weighting system, whereby additional support would be given to public servants who work in a range of areas to enable them to purchase a home in this city. If we do not take some action in this regard, public servants will continue to be unable to buy houses in Dublin. Some imaginative and innovative proposals are needed if we are to address this problem.