Irish Examiner View: Some home deposits in jeopardy

Because of the way we choose to do things, finding a home to buy and financing that pretty basic ambition has become a life-defining ordeal for far too many people.

As report after report confirms, buying a house or an apartment in Ireland is far more expensive than it is in most European countries.

Report after report confirms that our housing crisis is a consequence of deliberate, pro-market policy decisions.

The pandemic is unlikely to make that process any easier, as some banks and local authorities are reviewing loan agreements made before Covid-19 changed our world.

Deeply frustrating as that is for people hoping to buy a home, it would be naive to expect a lender to fund a home purchase if the borrower, or borrowers, have lost their job.

That is, all too coldly but simply, how our system works.

The suggestion that some people might lose their deposit after such a review is a horse of an entirely different colour.

Lenders and developers must be left in no doubt this is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

Government must draw a line in the sand and protect these vulnerable people.