Madam, - While Tom Parlon appears to think that property rights are absolute, most people would agree that they are subject to the common good.
There are three main groups affected by property rights - farmers, developers and those purchasing houses. The system in operation in Ireland is heavily weighed against the third group and any suggestion of capping the price of land results in objections by the other two groups.
The obvious solution to this problem seems to be to put an annual tax on holders of development land. By changes to the tax rate and capital gains tax the Government would have some influence on the value of the land and could ensure that land prices are at a level that are fair to all three parties concerned.
Such a tax could also be used to encourage the release of land for development and would have the advantage of not needing an amendment to the Constitution. Finally, it would help the Minister for Finance in framing his budget. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN BRODERICK,
Mountain View Park,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.