James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Hang on a second. I just want to expand my point. The percentage of people buying these properties outright gives an indication of just how broken things are. It shows the level of income they have, and fair play to them because they have obviously done well for themselves. Looking at the bell curve of society, people who should be in a position to buy a home, people who are earning good money, have good educations and who even in a downturn are likely to remain in employment, are locked out of it in the greater Dublin area and in a lot of urban areas. Cork and Dublin are the pinnacle of it because of the rental situation. People are caught in that trap and they are paying rental payments on a monthly basis that are far in excess of what a mortgage payment would be. That is what I am trying to get at here. When I asked about this on previous occasions, witnesses made a point about responsible lending. I fully accept that. I know they have a responsibility to give the Government good advice. However, I would argue that the rate of home ownership is falling out of the sky at the highest level in decades. Does that not concern Mr. Hogan?