Joe Gill: Actions to kickstart housing market must be applauded

Both the Central Bank and the Government have taken actions designed to turbo-charge house construction and both should be applauded for rolling up their sleeves on the matter.

It would be easy for them to avoid decisions on a subject that triggers intense debate and instead hide behind myriad rules and regulations to obfuscate and kick the political can down the road for another administration to address. Instead, a set of hard actions are underway which will drive shovel-ready projects.

Of course, any engagement with housing risks interfering with market forces, and one of the great risks currently is that house prices move forward aggressively. We must assume that was a key factor in the Central Bank’s extensive research ahead of the review announced last week.