An even greater scarcity of new starter homes this summer now seems inevitable if figures compiled by new homes specialists Hooke & MacDonald are confirmed by the Department of the Environment. According to the agency, new home starts for the first three months of this year fell by 26 per cent compared to the first quarter in 2000. Construction work got under way on 1,982 new homes this year as against 2,674 last year.

The fall-off in building activity in the provincial cities has been even more significant, down 39 per cent to 1,598 new homes this year. Ken MacDonald attributes the fall primarily to the absence of mortgage interest relief since the last Bacon report in June, 1998. He says that ironically, the only residential investment activity is now concentrated in Longford and Leitrim where this relief is still available.

Hooke and MacDonald also estimate that up to a £1 billion pounds has been spent by Irish people on holiday homes abroad in the last two years. And to think that only a few years ago, Revenue officials all but searched the pockets of punters heading for the Cheltenham races.