Pierre & Vacances, which specialises mostly in leaseback property in France and Spain, claims it has made 400 sales here, adding up to about €10m a month on average.
Dario Nabavian, international marketing manager, says most Irish customers — 50% of which are from Dublin — have bought in France, with the most popular locations being (in order) Paris, Vendée, Cala Rossa, Picardy and the Val d’Isère ski resort.
To capitalise further on Irish demand, the company is now planning a road show in Dublin ‘s Westin Hotel and Cork’s Hayfield Manor Hotel from September 15-17.
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Stepping into the ring is John Mulcahy, MD of international property advisers Jones Lang LaSalle, who calls McCarthy’s recommendation “breathtaking”.
“A more tried, failed and discredited notion there has never been,” he continues. “It is inefficient, yields little, completely distorts the markets, causes unforeseen consequences — always bad — and is invariably repealed after it has caused havoc for a number of years.”
Mulcahy says new land taxes would drive up house prices, arguing that land prices are being driven up by the high prices people are prepared to pay for houses, not vice versa.
The two bash it out at the UCD Urban Institute Ireland seminar on Tuesday.