The Lisbon Treaty

Despite the main political parties urging the nation to vote yes, Ireland's ratification of the Lisbon treaty looks far from a done deal. The latest polls showed those who have decided to vote no to be in the ascendancy, now at 35% - a 5% lead over those who have decided to vote yes. Crucially, 28% of voters are still undecided on the matter and theirs will be the opinion that swings it one way or the other.

At the latest IPAV AGM, Alan Redmond urged all members to say yes to Lisbon but how are those in the property industry intending to vote?

Have your say in our poll to the right.

But, are YOU happy?

Fine Gael look happy. First-time buyers might be (artificially & temporarily) if they heard Bruton's speech or catch the media coverage thereof. But are YOU?

They've just told the non-propertied public not to go buying any property at least until the fine boys & girls of the gael party are either in power or have lost the election.

Do they have any understanding at all of what people need to know about reform? If they were genuine about the urgency & absolute rightness of this reform, I think we'd get less of the highly politicised rhetoric such as "Fine Gael will take no lectures from the Party of the developer and the speculator" & the simplistic & slightly schoolboyish: "we want to give home-buyers a break, Fianna Fáil don't."

Their rhetoric, too, about the stamp duty (e.g. Bruton's way of putting the issue: "The message is simple: we want to give home-buyers a break, Fianna Fáil don't.") suggests that it's all about MESSAGES and anti-Fianna Fail gestures, rather than analysis, creative thinking and problem solving.