Ministers at odds over mortgage lending rules for first-time buyers

Cabinet ministers appear at odds on whether the Central Bank should relax lending rules for first-time buyers.

Finance Minsiter Michael Noonan urged the fiscal watchdog to review caps on how much can be borrowed by people getting on the property ladder for the first time. However, Health Minister Leo Varadkar expressed caution at such a move.

Mr Noonan said the matter needed to be urgently looked at by the Central Bank because of the lack of starter homes in Dublin.