“Any new mortgage rules should be phased in and should not hit people who have saved up and who are near to a viable deposit,” says to Mary Mitchell O’Connor, Fine Gael TD for Dun Laoghaire.

“New Central Bank rules need to be phased in over time and not penalise people who have spent years saving and have nearly reached their goal of a viable deposit. We cannot hit these people just as they thought they were home.

“For example, phasing in the proposed new lending rules at 2% to 2.5% over the coming four to five years would mean an additional €5,380 to €6,725 deposit that would be required next year, rather than the additional €26,900 currently envisioned, going from 10% deposit to 20%. That’s on an average Dublin house price of €269,000

“Doubling the deposit rate would be an unfair measure to solve a problem these young house buyers did not create. Canada, which has largely avoided the global property related downturn, introduced reinforced deposit rules, but did it through an insurance system rather than sticking a big cash bill onto ordinary buyers.

“This insurance covers the difference between the cash deposit that the buyer can afford, and the mandatory minimum deposit set down by the central bank. This spreads the risk of default, which achieves what the central bank is seeking to do.

“The ultimate solution to rising house prices is housing supply. More houses meet demand and this in turn drives house prices and rent down, making it easier to save for a more affordable mortgage and ultimately make home ownership more affordable.

“We need a task force to combat the supply problem, bringing together planning agencies, the councils and relevant government departments, NAMA and house builders, to ensure that the houses we need get built as quickly as possible, and to a high standard. There are 6,400 acres of zoned serviced land available in Dublin for 132,000 units, and more developments could be planned if required. Taxes and levies need to be simplified and the system of getting permission for a project streamlined.”