Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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122. To ask the Minister for Finance the degree to which he continues to monitor house property prices, with particular reference to the need to ensure that such prices do not become a major governing economic influence as in the past; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34278/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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According to the Central Statistics Office's Residential Property Price Index, national property prices increased by 1.6 per cent between July and August and by 7.2 per cent on an annual basis. This overall trend has been driven by price developments outside of Dublin, where residential property prices have increased by 1.8 per cent over the month and by 11.4 per cent on an annual basis. In Dublin, residential property price inflation has been more subdued, increasing by 1.5 in August and by 4.5 per cent on an annual basis. The pick-up in residential property price growth over the last two months follows several months of moderation, most likely reflecting the impact of Central Bank's macro-prudential measures.

I wish to assure the Deputy that my Department continues to monitor developments in the property market including property prices. The recently announced Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing affirms the Government's commitment to restore the housing market to a sustainable equilibrium with 84 actionable measures across five key pillars namely Address Homelessness, Accelerate Social Housing, Build More Homes, Improve the Rental Sector and Utilise Existing Housing. Progress in delivering on these actions is being monitored on an ongoing basis and the first quarterly progress report has recently been published.