Aideen Hayden (Labour)

This week has seen some excellent debates in the House. Sometimes, it is not about quantity, but quality. The debate on the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012 was excellent. The quality of debate on Fianna Fáil's Private Members' Bill was also excellent. To be fair to the House, Senators enter the Chamber well briefed and make their best efforts to hold a healthy and worthy debate.

Will the Leader intervene in a matter that relates to the one raised by Senators Barrett and Bradford this week, that is, the housing market? The Central Statistics Office, CSO, has reported that property prices have overcorrected by as much as 26%. Doctors differ and patients die, but everyone in the real world is well aware that property prices have overcorrected. We have reverted to the situation that obtained in 1985, in that it is cheaper to buy a house on a piece of land than it is to build it. Anyone with a toe in the real world knows that this is a symptom of a market that has overcorrected.

It is just as wrong to overheat a market on the way up through the use of tax incentives as it is to allow it to fall below its natural level on the way down. As a matter of urgency, we must hold a debate with the Minister for Finance and ask him what measures he intends to take to "encourage" the two pillar banks to lend to the ordinary person on the street. The people who bought their properties at the height of the boom will be the greatest losers when they are forced into fire sales. This is an issue for them. What is more, 19% of people are renting from private landlords, an increase of almost 7%. This is a significant change in Irish culture. The bulk of the 19% are renting because they have no other option. Economists differ, but the facts on the ground are as we know them. Will the Leader invite the Minister for Finance to attend the House, please?