'Parents gifting children €1bn from Bank of Mum and Dad fuelling house price rises'

'The Bank of Mum and Dad could well be as big as the smaller banks that exist in the market in terms of the contribution they make to the market,' said Michael Dowling. File picture: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Parents are gifting their children an estimated €1bn a year from the 'Bank of Mum and Dad', dangerously fuelling house price inflation, a leading mortgage broker has warned.

Michael Dowling, who has held influential industry posts over many years, said “everybody” working in the mortgage industry, including estate agents and the mortgage banks themselves, is fully aware of the scale of additional money pouring into the market, which he describes as “the silent element that is influencing prices”.