Does the Tánaiste welcome the Taoiseach's proposal to hold a constitutional referendum on the question of building land and the primacy of the public good over private property? Does she acknowledge the crisis in terms of access to affordable housing and that the price of building land is central to putting housing again within the reach of people on middle and low incomes? Will the Tánaiste confirm that this is a Government proposal? I presume it is not only a Fianna Fáil proposal. Do the Progressive Democrats support this proposition? What is the point in referring this to a Dáil committee? What is the advice of the Attorney General on the matter? Will she outline the shape of the proposal to address this issue which was raised as long ago as the late 1960s in the Kenny report? Give or take six months, when will this proposal be put before the Irish people and will her party join with Fianna Fáil, my party and other parties in the House in campaigning on this issue?

It is not a Government proposal officially, but I share the views expressed by the Taoiseach in this regard. The common good must come first provided a person gets a reasonable return for property that has to be acquired – by that I mean reasonable, not the rates that have been paid in recent years.

As the Deputy is aware, this issue has been long-fingered since the Kenny report. It would require a constitutional referendum. It is important, therefore, that the views of all parties in the House are sought if we are to proceed along that route. I do not believe a referendum would be easily carried unless the preparatory work is done in advance. The Taoiseach's approach to ask the all-party Oireachtas group to consider this as a matter of priority is the appropriate way forward. Hopefully the matter can be put to the people as soon as possible.

What does the Tánaiste mean by saying the preparatory work has to be done first? Does she believe the five developers that own all the land in this county are likely to defeat the wish of the people generally? When the Tánaiste says she shares the Taoiseach's views, does that have any more meaning than the Taoiseach's off the top of his head thinking to RTE? The truth is the Taoiseach has no intention of putting such a referendum to the people. It would be against the interests of the people whose support he considers most valuable. Is it not the case that the record of the Government on housing is that one should abolish the first-time buyer's grant, increase VAT, hand back 16,000 sites and introduce a stamp duty regime for investors and that it has no intention of addressing the matter? The Taoiseach's way of dealing with the matter is to refer it to a Dáil committee that will exist for the lifetime of the Government. This is off the top of his head populism with which the Tánaiste is now associating herself. Is there a Government proposal? That is a simple straightforward question. I am not interested in the Taoiseach's views. He has developed the habit of commentating on politics. Is there a proposal by the Government in this regard?

Ownership is important in Ireland and that is why in other referenda, for example the divorce referendum, it became a major issue and the Deputy is well aware of that. It is not an issue for only five or six developers, it is an issue that people hold dearly. There is no point in the Government embarking on a referendum that might not be carried. It is important that we get it right.

It is being shot down.

It is not being shot down. It is a serious commitment to ask the committee to consider the issue, as we did on other issues in the past. At the earliest opportunity, we will put the matter to the public because it will require a constitutional referendum.

As a matter of record, we are building more houses than ever. The stamp duty regime was changed because individuals who could not afford houses, who were dependent on the rented sector, were paying exorbitant rents because there were very few people investing in that sector. That is why the Government changed its attitude in relation to stamp duty.

There are many more people waiting for housing now.

We built 20,000 more houses than the Opposition.