With that growth has come jobs and greater real income for Irish households. However, with more jobs comes more demand for housing, especially in cities. The supply of new homes was slow to respond with low rates of home building. The result has been higher rents, higher house prices and a growth in demand for mortgages.
With that demand has come increased public scrutiny over the mortgage measures. However we need to tread carefully. Higher debt burdens increase the vulnerability of families and households in the event of a future shock. The mortgage measures ensure that households do not take on excessive pro-cyclical debt while competing to purchase a relatively fixed supply of homes.