Marian Finnegan, chief economist, said: "The penalising rate of stamp duty applicable to "rst-time buyers in the secondhand market is acting as a barrier to entry. The decision to increase the threshold for stamp duty from 190,501 to 317,000 in Budget 2005 went some way to addressing this situation but it is not far enough.

"The elimination of stamp duty costs for "rst-time buyers is now essential if we are to ensure that this cohort of the population remain an active ingredient in the overall market, " she added.

NEW HOMES SEASON OFF TO FLYING START Despite growing fears of a slowdown in the property market due to an oversupply of high-end second-hand homes for sale, particularly in Dublin, the new homes market appears to be off to a "ying start if one agents' success last weekend is anything to go by.

Hooke and MacDonald has reported sales of 500 new homes between its six news launches, including 190 houses at Belmayne, Malahide Road, Dublin 13, and 110 apartments at Parkview in Stepaside. Its total sales revenue for the weekend of 17 September exceeded 200m with "rst-time buyers accounting for 90% of purchasers.

Another agent who reported equally good success last week was Hamiliton Osborne King. It took in 95 sales at the launch of a further two blocks of 103 apartments and penthouses at its Mount St Annes development in Dublin 6.

DUBLIN IS BEST FOR BUSINESS Dublin is now ranked the 11th best city to do business, according to a new survey conducted by Lisney's international partners, Cushman & Wake"eld. And such is the demand for of"ce space in the capital that the projected 2006 year-end takeup is set to eclipse the all time take up record of 229,000sq m recorded in 1998, The European Cities Monitor survey is an index based on top managers' ratings of 33 European cities on a number of key criteria.

These include access to quali"ed staff, easy access to markets, availability of of"ce space etc.

London retains its crown as the best business location, while "ve of the top 16 business locations are in Germany. Dublin topped the table in one category . . . "climate created by government".