Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the content of a letter I received this morning from the Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Noel Ahern. It informs me that the practice of stage payments in the purchase of houses in housing estates will officially end from 30 June next. No new contracts after that date will permit it. This is a voluntary code, of course, rather than a legislative provision. Members of the House were unanimous about this practice, which is wholly one-sided and anti-consumer. It puts a huge additional financial burden on people, particularly first-time buyers who can ill afford it. However, I welcome this development. Perhaps we can discuss it on another occasion.

Senator O'Toole raised an important matter this morning, the different standards that are allowed to operate in Kerry and Galway with regard to road signage. Unfortunately, visitors to the kingdom are being misled because of the road signage, whereas in the Minister's constituency visitors can read the road signs in a language familiar to most of them. That discrimination must cease immediately. I hope the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, who recently visited Kerry, will do something practical urgently.