The government claims that Home Choice loans are designed to help people who can’t get mortgages because of the credit crunch. Again, this seems a bit bizarre - surely the whole purpose of the €460 billion state guarantee of the banks was to get credit flowing again?

Some members of the government have also claimed that the system replaces the Local Authority Mortgage scheme and is designed to make a dent in the housing lists.

The Local Authority Mortgage scheme had a maximum earnings ceiling of €36,800; the Home Choice Loan scheme is only open to those earning €40,000 or more. And if the housing list is genuinely made up of people earning 20 per cent more than the average industrial wage, then our problems are much worse than we thought.

It simply doesn’t make sense. Unless, of course, you don’t believe that the scheme is really designed to help first-time buyers; unless you harboured a suspicion that the real beneficiaries were, let’s say, the country’s developers.

But this scheme is not just imprudent - it’s unfair too. According to Davy Stockbrokers, there are around 40,000 unsold new homes on the market. But, according to Daft.ie, there are roughly 34,000 second-hand homes for sale for under €300,000. It is the owners of these homes who will be the real victims of this pointless and indefensible initiative.

Our national determination to own the roof over our heads and the polished porcelain tiles under our feet has been responsible for some harebrained initiatives in recent years. But history may yet prove this to be the daftest of all.

Read More