The concept of a mortgage deposit is now outdated and a nonsense

Mr Noonan has long since paid off any mortgage on his family home and has never had to pay the mortgage on his Dublin home as the Irish taxpayer has (repeatedly) paid for that capital asset, as they have done for the likes of Mr Kenny, Mr Martin, Mr Adams and others.

And if Mr Noonan was really serious about helping people to get on a property ladder, and tackling bank collusion, he would address the issue of banks requiring a deposit before they approve lending.

That requirement is an outdated throwback to a time when one man’s income (and it was always a man, as women weren’t allowed have a mortgage unless a man was guarantor) was sufficient to support a family.

If a person or couple are renting an apartment for €1,500 per month and are able to afford this and their bills and have a track record of payment, then why shouldn’t they be able to apply for and receive a mortgage that matches a monthly payment of €1,500?

Instead, we have the nonsense of parents loaning deposits to their children to pretend they can save a deposit.

It is a nonsense to argue that the point of a deposit is that it gives people equity in their home and it shows they can save.

Certainly if people didn’t have to pay so much for childcare or travel costs — costs which could be reduced if the Government took action rather than being market-led — they could save more, but the reality is that they do have childcare and transport costs.

Plus, I have never yet heard of a bank allowing a consumer to use up some of their equity if they find themselves unable to pay their mortgage.

So even if they have some equity, all that would happen if they fall behind on their mortgage payments would be that eventually, the house would be repossessed and sold for an amount that covered the outstanding debt to the bank.

The bank wouldn’t care a fig about any equity being returned to the homeowner.

So much then for all the effort to save that deposit.

Also, as we get closer to an election, Fine Gael needs to fundraise.

It will be asking for money from those very people in banking and the professions who have a vested interest in keeping things as they currently are.

Fine Gael will also be making noises about how it will help people seeking to buy a home, despite the fact that it’s been in office since 2011 and didn’t do this.

It would seem the voter is going to be asked to take another punt on Fine Gael and that if returned to office, it will tackle this type of issue. That old saying about “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” must apply to every election candidate from any party in the coming months.

Desmond FitzGerald

Canary Wharf

London