Introducing a zero Vat rate on new home builds would help solve the country’s chronic housing shortage and support economic development, according to the lord mayor of Cork.

The Irish Home Builders Association has said the situation in Priory Hall could have been prevented if a national builders' register existed.

BUILDER Stephen McCarthy’s company Astra Construction does exactly what he says he does on the large advertising billboard, entering his home turf of Carrigaline.

THEY might have once operated as a holy trinity but property developers are now blaming both banks and the Government for their woes as house prices fall to their lowest level in many years.

PROPERTY developers have been forced to sell many new homes at a loss this year due to the downturn in the construction industry, according to leading builders.

House prices across the country have fallen by an average of more than 40%.

THE Government is considering scrapping a 20-year sale clause on people who have acquired homes under an affordable housing scheme.

An online guide to buying a new house in Ireland has been launched by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF).

House builders today attempted to instil confidence in the falling market claiming more units than forecast would be completed this year.

HOUSE prices are set to rise again after the ESB got approval for a 67% increase in charges for first-time connections to the electricity network.

HOUSING Minister Noel Ahern is “hopeful” of brokering a deal with developers that will allow more than 25,000 middle-income earners squeezed out of the property market to buy their first homes.

The number of houses being constructed in Ireland will reach new records this year, according to a group representing the building trade.

The Government is reportedly in talks with property developers about plans to construct 30,000 social and affordable houses throughout the country over the next four years.

MORE than 500,000 houses will have to be built in the next 10 years to keep pace with escalating demand, the Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA) revealed yesterday.

THE Government was accused last night of letting builders off the hook when it emerged they have only paid a special social housing levy on 400 out of 80,000 houses.

PARENTS are remortgaging their homes or borrowing up to €20,000 to help their cash-strapped children buy a house.

PROPOSALS to increase the supply of building land and cap developers’ profits have had a mixed reaction, with the property industry warning against Government interference in the market.

The Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA) has welcomed the report of the all party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution in relation to property rights.

YOUNG Fine Gael yesterday demanded an end to an outrageous housing tax rip-off where stealth levies account for 45% of the cost of a new home.

FINDING somebody to take responsibility for adding rocket fuel to house prices is even more difficult than locating a reasonably priced home.

Interminably, the question of who, or what, is responsible for the unconscionable cost of houses in this country is one that is passed from the Government, to builders, to the cost of land, but ultimately the purchaser pays an exorbitant price.

UP to 40% of the price of a house goes to the Government in the form of taxes and levies, according to new research by the Irish Home Builders Association.

SURPLUS State land and idle back gardens should be used to tackle the housing shortage in Dublin, the Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA) says.

The Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA) has dismissed Dublin City Council’s property levy plan as 'a property tax by the back door' that will add 5% to the price of a new house.

The Irish Home Builders Association say that any increase in local authority charges next year will lead to an increase in house prices.

THE number of people on the housing waiting lists will rise above 60,000 next year because spending on housing will be below the construction inflation level, social housing groups warned yesterday.

The Irish Home Builders Association (IBHA) is calling on the Government to appoint a regulator to monitor the introduction of all development levies proposed by local authorities.

The Irish Home Builders Association has called on councillors throughout Ireland to vote against planned increases in levies on new homes.

THE price of new houses will rise by up to 10,000 next year when a Government tax on building is introduced.

The Irish Home Builders Association has claimed that the cost of new houses could rise by up to €20,000 if local authorities approve plans to increase development levies by up to one-third.

FIRST time buyers could face a hike of up to €10,000 on the cost of a new home in the coming months, adding to the huge tax burden they already bear on entering the housing market.

ADDITIONAL State- owned land around the country is to be made available for affordable housing, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern confirmed yesterday.

THE GOVERNMENT spent over €250 million on rent subsidies last year, money which could have been better invested in affordable local authority homes, builders say.

THE Government must abolish the 2% insurance levy and crack down on fraudulent claims or hundreds of small construction firms across the country could go to the wall.

THE Government has ignored pleas by builders to exempt first-time home buyers from a 1% VAT increase.

The Construction Industry Federation and the Irish Home Builders Association are expressing disapointment at the Government in the revised arrangements for Social and Affordable Housing.

UNWORKABLE legislation and delays in planning may push up further the price of new houses, the Irish Home Builders Association warned yesterday.

Irish house hunters are being warned to buy their homes now before an anticipated increase in property prices.