Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Can the Tánaiste shed any light on the bizarre comments made by the Taoiseach about how young working people are supposed to raise deposits and secure an affordable home to purchase? It is not an exaggeration to say that vast numbers of people are puzzled and infuriated about the Taoiseach's advice to go to the bank of mum and dad to deal with the impossible task of coming up with a deposit or finding affordable housing.

In the 1970s a couple, one a nurse and the other a council worker, could probably pay a modest rent while saving a deposit for an affordable house. Today, even in the best case scenario, that is not possible for a couple living in Dublin. A teacher on €35,000 and a clerical worker in the council, on a starting salary of €23,000, who go to EBS would be allowed to borrow approximately €240,000. If they manage to save a deposit of €27,000 they could buy a house for €270,000. The problem is that the average rent for a one-bedroomed apartment is €1,200 per month so there is no chance they can save that deposit. Two public sector workers used to be able to put money aside but after pay cuts, pension levies, USC, property tax, waste charges, increases in motor tax and utility price hikes, they simply do not have the money, especially if they have three or four children. The bank of mum and dad does not exist. It is mythical except for a pampered few in this country.

Even if a couple could get to the stage of having a deposit and a mortgage, where would they find a house for €270,000 in Dublin? The answer is "nowhere". Does the Tánaiste know how many houses were available in Dún Laoghaire for under €300,000 this week? There were seven. There was none under €200,000. The average house price in Dublin is €350,000 but in Dún Laoghaire it is €600,000. This also renders the affordable mortgage scheme completely useless for huge swathes of Dublin.

Will Fine Gael get real? What planet are they living on? Can they give some better advice to struggling working people trying to get on the housing ladder than to go to the bank of mum and dad?

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