Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

They are the lifeblood of the housing industry. It is vital to have first-time buyers entering the market. In three budgets I made two carefully calibrated initiatives on stamp duty for first-time buyers: increasing the thresholds in 2005 and this year; and doubling the mortgage interest subsidy up to €125,000, not just for those going into the market to buy a house but also for those who have been in that market for the past six years, given that there had been some slight interest rate rises and to help cushion them against any problem in that regard.

One must be most careful about what one does with the housing market. One should not play politics with it. Approximately 260,000 families have members working in the construction industry. This represents 15% to 16% of GNP.