The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has called for the Minister for Finance to cut the top rate of stamp duty from 9 per cent to 5 per cent in next week's budget.
In its pre-budget submission, the CIF called for Mr Cowen to introduce a reduction in the number of bands and the introduction of marginal relief.
The CIF said the resulting upsurge in transactions would increase the overall yield from stamp duty.
The CIF also said there is demand for 60,000 to 65,000 new homes to be built over the next five years, 20,000 more than the current rate. Housing output at this level is worth an additional €2 billion to the State the federation said.
The Government's planned increase in mortgage-interest relief to first-time buyers will help restore confidence in the housing market the CIF said.
The federation also said that improvements are needed across all public infrastructure headings to grow the productive capacity of the economy.
It said the Government should borrow if necessary to fund infrastructure development.
