Higher stamp duties on housing, the introduction of special, higher, mortgage interest charges and a reduction in the cost of building land, were just some of the ideas suggested in Brussels last week as a means of deflating the housing price "bubble" in this country. The European Commission is worried about inflationary tendencies here, especially in relation to house prices, and it has already communicated its concerns to the Government and to the Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy. Not that they needed telling, because the Governor of the Central Bank, Maurice O'Connell, has been harping on for years about theovergenerous lending practices of financial institutions.

The Commission has suggested that the tax concessions in this year's budget should be postponed because they will exaggerate inflationary pressures. But there is no sign that the Government can, or will, pay attention. The alternative approach, coming from a high-flying finance committee in the European Parliament, would involve higher government taxes - through stamp duties and higher mortgage rates - on housing, in order to slow the market. It all seems off the wall at a time when thousands of acres of development land lie unserviced and builders go on to make a killing because the of intense shortage of starter homes.

How about introducing penalties where they properly belong - the Government, for its poor foresight; planners for their rejection of so many schemes and developers for their determination to push prices to the very limit unchecked.