THE Taoiseach, Mr John Bruton, has set out a four-point plan to tackle house price rises.
The Government is also expected to announce an increase in child benefit payments. The increase would more than offset any benefit Fianna Fail could offer in terms of tax incentives, a Government spokesman said.
At the Dublin Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Mr Bruton said the Government had commissioned a study of the factors affecting the recent rise in house prices, particularly in Dublin.
The Government will also undertake an audit to see if some land could be released for housing. At the same time, it will prepare regional planning guidelines for counties Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. These would deal with the need for serviced land and the issue of housing density to maximise the number of homes which can be provided, Mr Bruton said.
The final prong of the plan is the development of a strategy for a better regional balance to ease the severe development pressure on Dublin.
Mr Bruton also stressed his party's priority in targeting tax cuts on middle and lower-income earners. "We must resist the much easier political option of concentrating solely on the higher paid."
The problem, according to Mr Bruton, was not so much the top tax take, but the fact that people start paying this rate too early.
He said at least 60 per cent of the £300 million earmarked annually in tax cuts would be devoted solely to increasing tax-free allowances.
The Taoiseach warned of the danger of a jump in public spending. He pointed out the Government now spends 32 per cent of national income, from 35 per cent three years ago.