If you think the new stamp duty and annual tax on second homes is unfair, the organisers of a "major rally" in Knock, Co Mayo, tonight would like you to add your voice to the general roar of disapproval. The newly formed Association to Protect Housing in the Border, Midlands and Western Region has told the Government it should not punish the whole country just because house prices have got out of control in Dublin. They warn that the measures are seriously undermining the construction industry in holiday areas, where estate agents are also suffering as sales and prices fall off. The organisers have reminded Charlie McCreevy that the new taxes are simply encouraging people to buy abroad instead of at home.

"Before the Bacon measures were introduced, they calculate that the tax on a £100,000 second home was just £5,000," according to the chairman Keith Anderson. That figure has now jumped to £15,000, which includes the new 9 per cent stamp duty and an annual tax of 2 per cent based on the value for three years. He stresses that anyone who makes their living from the home holiday market is affected. Peter Bacon, who advised the Government on tax measures to discourage holiday home ownership, is particularly well briefed on the subject, since his main home is in rural Co Wexford.

However, it is hard to understand the connection between holiday homes in out of the way locations and the problems in the first-time buyers' market in Dublin. The Government can expect a lot of flak on this issue in the run-up to the next general election, which may not be that far off. That meeting takes place at 8 p.m. today in the Belmont Hotel, Knock.