Another interesting snippet from the Department of Finance briefing notes involves the issue of a house-price database. The department says that plans were drawn up last year to regularly publish house prices based on the stamp duty that was paid. The intention was to publish it in the Finance Bill 2011 but time pressures meant it was excluded. The proposal was based on models used in other jurisdictions, such as Britain and the US.

Nama chairman Frank Daly is the latest to publicly support the creation of the residential and commercial property price databases. "The Commission on Taxation, which I chaired, called for just such a register in its report in September 2009. I believe that the infrastructure is already in place in the form of the Property Registration Authority," he told the assembled members of the new Society of Chartered Surveyors on Tuesday. Maybe he read last week's Around the Block? "It is now high time we got on with it," he continued. We agree, Frank. The estimated income from stamp duties this year, by the way, is €990m, down from €2.7 billion in 2006.