Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I saw that figure too.

An average family buying a house now has an income of about €90,000. The Deputy asked if I knew what the average income for somebody working in Ireland is now. It is €50,000 for an individual so an average income for two people working full-time would be €100,000. Those are the numbers. We are now seeing over 400 first-time buyers every week. It is the highest level since the Celtic tiger period. That figure is probably an underestimate because it counts couples as one. It is really encouraging that we are seeing very large numbers of first-time buyers and I want to see that increase. The Government is helping. We have, for example, an affordable housing programme for local authorities. We also have the first home scheme which can be particularly helpful because it allows people to bridge the gap between the mortgage they can get and the house they want to buy. We also have the help to buy scheme which helps people get their deposit. Let us not forget that the Deputy's party wants to take all of that away.

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