Dr Peter Bacon last night refused to be drawn into the row on investor property taxes.

The author of various reports for the Government on the Republic's housing market declined to comment on the decision by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, to shelve tax measures designed to dampen property speculation.

"What I do is present the analysis. . . You'll have to ask the Government what the measures are designed to do," said Dr Bacon.

Dr Bacon was speaking after delivering a talk at AIB Group headquarters on present and future trends in the Republic's housing market.