Calls for stamp duty cuts to follow UK move
THE Government is under renewed pressure to act swiftly on flagging house prices by introducing a raft of measures to keep the market moving.
The call came as the British Government yesterday announced plans to revive its own market, including changes to stamp duty and a shared home-ownership scheme.
Critics here say that restoring confidence in the ailing market would not just stabilise prices, but would hugely boost public finance through tax revenue. It would also help revive the construction industry which is central to the Irish economy.
British prime minister Gordon Brown suspended stamp duty on some homes and brought forward £1bn (€1.4bn) of spending in an effort to revive the worst UK economic slump in almost two decades.
Residential properties costing less than £175,000 pounds will be exempt from stamp duty for a year under the plans announced by the UK treasury.
The British government will help 16,000 people struggling to meet their mortgage payments, while the new plans also include a "shared equity" scheme with local authorities to help 10,000 first-time buyers get onto the property ladder.
Golfing
Joan Burton TD, deputy leader of the Labour Party, said: "At least the UK government is doing something about the situation there. Irish government ministers are still away on holiday. Our golfing Taoiseach has truly driven the economy not just into the rough, but has played the ball off course."
She said one of the most interesting aspects of the move by the UK government was the introduction of the share-ownership scheme.
"One of the biggest problems facing first time buyers and those trying to trade up is the banks' increasingly tighter lending. This is one way the Government could help borrowers, with a 'right-to-buy' scheme of shared ownership."
The British government proposals include a scheme which would allow homeowners to sell part or all of their property and rent it back.
The Construction Industry Federation says a similar measure could work here too. Director General Tom Parlon said the CIF believed up to to 30,000 potential buyers were holding off because of the credit crunch.
The UK treasury also plans to bring forward the £6.5bn earmarked for social-housing programmes over the next three years.
- Ailish O'Hora
