Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The flip side of that story is the degree to which homes are unaffordable. The witness stated the average income to price ratio for a first-time buyer shown in the questionnaire was 2.88. With the average house price in Dublin currently slightly more than €400,000, this means the combined income of two people seeking to buy a house would be €140,000. Obviously, this is not a circumstance of Mr. McLoughlin's making and responsibility cannot be placed solely at the door of the Bank of Ireland. However, the witness will accept that many young people are now precisely in the position of Orla who features in the advertisement and cannot afford to leave her parents' home and get into the housing market.