Can I ask as someone who is not completely familiar with PD party policies; What is the party's stance on House Prices and whether or not they are committed to driving them down?

With all of the media attention over the past 6 months on this very subject, the house prices of this nation are the single biggest domestic threat to the Irish economy.

By this time last year, stamp duty was coming in at €1.68 billion according to exchequer returns. The present government therefore has a vested interest in keeping house prices high and this was followed this year by another stealth tax on buildings of €10,000.

Quote from Fine Gael:
More and more young people are going on lengthy Local Authority waiting lists, with over a 100,000 people throughout the country having to wait anywhere up to 7 or 8 years before they have any chance of getting a home.

The fact that the government are getting UP TO 40% (ref below) of a house is hardly helping young people enter the housing ladder and is contributing to our culture of personal borrowing, which stands close to €70bn (of which €56.4bn is mortgage debt) according to figures from the Central Bank.

Ref:
http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer...y266467527.asp