THE president of the Society of Chartered Surveyors, Tom Dunne, has urged the property and construction industries to acknowledge that they are experiencing boom conditions when seeking additional incentives from the Government.

He told the society's annual dinner their mission now must be to properly manage their prosperity.

"Although not as good, we have had boom times before. The industries we work in are inherently cyclical and our tendency to make hay while the sunshines remains a part of our culture. We want to make the most of the boom while we can. We encourage the Government to continue incentives more suitable for leaner times. We may suggest further investment when our industries are operating at, or maybe beyond, capacity."

Mr Dunne said maybe they should remember this when asking for extra incentives at a boom time. "In their haste to build the haycock, they can ignore the threat to all their future posed by an overstretched industry. In the interest of the industry and the country, they must encourage governments to manage this boom and the precept that should guide them was perhaps that of providing for the rainy day.

"An argument for support in a time of trouble is strengthened by the admission that it is not needed in a time of plenty. The challenge of maintaining prosperity is perhaps greater than that of attaining it."