James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Hang on. I wish to make this important point. We have reached a situation where the availability of rental property in Dublin is at a record low. People who traditionally would easily have been able to buy could have done so but billions of euro are being wasted every year in rental payments that otherwise would allow them to purchase homes if the lending rules were done properly.

I fear the attitude in the Department of Finance - tell me if I am wrong - is that keeping household debt low is necessarily a good thing. I do not believe that is the case. People should be able to buy a home and pay a mortgage. Rather than sitting there and pouting at me, Mr. McCarthy, I wish to make the point that rental payments in Dublin are significantly higher than the average mortgage repayments on a two-bedroom apartment in many parts of the city. Does he consider the current trajectory to be sustainable, because I certainly do not think it is?