FRANK McLOUGHLIN,
Sir, - Reading your Property supplement last week, I was struck by the comparisons between prices in this inflated economy and France. Apartments in Smithfield are being sold for €320,000 and an apartment in Nice is offered at €86,000.
Surely this can't be justified under any circumstances. It is symptomatic of the way property prices have gone through the roof in this country. Middle or lower income people can hardly afford to buy houses any more and are being excluded from the market. The lucky ones now are the high-income people or the investors or people who qualify for local authority houses. This is a sad state of affairs and I would expect those in power to do something about it. - Yours, etc.,
FRANK McLOUGHLIN, Loughanure, Clane, Co Kildare.