The concept of a mortgage deposit is now outdated and a nonsense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That requirement is an outdated throwback to a time when one man’s income (and it was always a man, as women weren’t allowed have a mortgage unless a man was guarantor) was sufficient to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