Local td furious over prohibitive central bank mortgage proposal

Fine Gael TD for Longford and Westmeath, Gabrielle McFadden, has expressed grave concerns about the Central Bank proposal to require a 20% deposit before being considered for mortgage approval. She said that if this rule is introduced, young people will be unable to access the property ladder as high rents leave them unable to save for a deposit.

“Young people in their late twenties and thirties currently paying rent of €800 plus a month for many years will never be able get on the property ladder if they are being forced to come up with a 20% deposit under new rules being proposed by the Central Bank.

“Essentially, what these young people are doing is paying someone else’s mortgage when they should be paying their own,” said the local TD.

According to Deputy McFadden, a strong track record in maintaining rent payments over several years should be considered as part of a mortgage application. She also pointed out that the levels of rent being paid by some young people are the equivalent of monthly mortgage repayments.

“Of course no-one wants to go back to the days of the property bubble under the last Government but this new 20% rule, if it goes ahead, is punishing young people who had no hand, act or part in the crash.
 
“I would appeal to the Governor and the relevant decision-makers to again think long and hard of the consequences of introducing such a prohibitive rule for young people dreaming of securing their first home,” she concluded.