Matthew
Yes, they dropped 1 percent this year, the first time in about 15 yrs. House prices have increased massively over that period, so a correction is likely.
My parents house, for example, bought about 20 yrs ago, has appreciated 3,000%. Just buying a very standard 3-bed semi-detached house in Dublin will cost about 400k to 500k euro.
There was an election here, and nobody yet really knows the state of play regarding stamp duty.
John