Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have not asked any questions yet. The question I wish to ask relates to the information that came out yesterday concerning the mortgage lending rules. By and large, I think they represent the right approach. That is not everybody's understanding but it is important that they protect the resilience of consumers and of the system generally in terms of the need for society to have a functioning banking system that does not end up costing the State billions and billions, as it did on the previous occasion. However, there is this trap where not everybody has access to funds for a deposit from what is now being called the bank of mum and dad, and people are finding it very difficult to get deposits together. That is especially the case if individuals are not in a position to live at home because they are from the country and are working in Dublin, for example. They are probably paying far more in rent per month than they would be paying in a mortgage for a similar property, but they are not able to get their 10% deposit. Has the Central Bank explored any kind of mechanism that allows people to prove that they have been paying rent every month for however many years of €2,500 per month in many parts of south Dublin, the area with which I am most familiar. The mortgage repayment might be €1,500. Such people could be given some credit against that if the banks could see they are sensible people who have an earning capacity and an ability to pay their rent on time every month and they are able to satisfy a mortgage. At the moment it is very difficult for people to build a deposit. Ten per cent of a house in south Dublin is €50,000, €60,000 or €70,000. For most people, that is an awful lot of money to try to build up while simultaneously paying rent.