The Government must introduce a specific property tax and abolish stamp duty on all transactions to alleviate the "curent crisis" in the housing market, a Trinity College economics professor said today.
Speaking at the Urban Institute of Ireland's public lecture series in central Dublin, Professor PJ Drudy called for greater Government intervention to address the shortage of affordable housing.
He warned it could take up to 20 years to clear the current backlog on the housing waiting lists and said it was "completely unacceptable" that 48,000 families, or 140,000 people, are unable to access affordable accommodation.
Restoring a property tax, raising capital gains tax on sales of all houses and apartments, the introduction of special taxation curbs to limit speculation and the abolition of stamp duty on all home purchase transactions were among his key recommendations.
Pointing out that the average 3-bed semi-detached house in Dublin costs no more than €100,000 to build, although it sells for anything up to €300,000 or more, Professor Drudy claimed the market is failing to supply the required quotao of housing.
He said: "The biggest winners in the Irish housing system are speculator, developers, banks and building societies, estate agents and the Government.
The losers are tenants, first-time buyers, couples in their thirties who would like to have children but cannot afford it, people on low incomes, people who are unemployed, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities."