John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

The Taoiseach took the political ground from under the Minister when he made the comments to which Senator Norris referred. The Minister might have a very good relationship with the Taoiseach. I do not know what happened in that regard but the Taoiseach stuck his political finger in the air, felt the breeze and decided to address this issue. That is why the Minister is in the House to introduce this change. Despite his continual attacks on the Opposition's proposal and its supposed scattergun approach, we proposed the complete reform of stamp duty. The Minister can legitimately criticise if he has difficulties with the proposal but he should not give out about wholesale reform. His proposal is only tinkering at the edges and, as he stated, stamp duty has served us well for 200 years. The property market in the past ten years has not reflected the intention behind stamp duty. Stamp duty rates are penal and they should be reformed. I make no apology for suggesting that if the property people buy exceeds a specific threshold, they should pay the higher rate of stamp duty only on the amount by which they exceed the threshold. That is fair and equitable and that is provided for in the Fine Gael proposal. It should have been included in the proposals of the Government. Maybe it will be yet and there will be a chance on some other date to really reform stamp duty and its impact on the property sector in this country.

After the Minister slating our proposals, thumbing his nose at them in the budget speech, and everything else that has happened——