Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

In many parts of Ireland the stamp duty debate is utterly irrelevant. I visited a leading estate agent in my home town of Tipperary yesterday where the average price of good three bedroom houses is approximately €220,000. Obviously, this is far below the threshold and any changes in stamp duty policy would relate in the main to the greater Dublin area, as well as to one or two other city areas. I am uncertain whether the Fine Gael Party has thought through the possible inflationary consequences of its proposals on stamp duty, the campaign on which has been run by the Sunday Independent, in particular.