As someone who works in the construction sector I have been absolutely amazed at how the expectations of the Irish consumer have risen so much in the past ten years; when I purchased my own home nearly ten years ago a (pretty cheap and flimsy) laminate fitted wardrobe was "de rigeur" and the only debate in relation to floor finishes was "will I go for solid or semi-solid, vinyl or tile". Even a random inspection through the Home and Garden forum will show how far we have come: we worry about our solid wide plank flooring and underfloor heating/ where can we source the natural stone flags for our conservatory etc etc. To my mind this type of extravagence in terms of spending on our homes was always a little worrying, especially amongst younger, first time buyers who had little savings and wanted everything "now". There was an enormous amount of growth in the DIY and home furnishing and accessory retail sector over the last ten years and I have always felt that any newcomer entering that retail market in the last 3-4 years had just missed the boat. As already stated all these enterprises fueled imports and generated no new wealth. In the bom times we've just come through the construction sector did rise to the challenge posed by government: build more units- but many would argue (I can't disagree) that quality suffered, both in terms of actual build quality and the quality of design and planning of towns and villages around the country. The construction sector will downsize, it has no choice, but we will see smart operators embrace the challenge, building better quality; improved sustainability, quality design and planning for people. I like the "forsest fire " analogy that was used before, unfortunately there will be a lot of people hurt in the process but cest la vie......Let's see what Mr McWilliams has to say tonight?