A Kerry councillor says it doesn't make sense that people can't get mortgages, when they're paying double the cost of a mortgage in rent.
Councillor Jackie Healy-Rae is a member of the Kerry County Council Housing Strategic Policy Committee.
He was speaking following the publication of a Daft report today, which shows that rents in Kerry are much higher than mortgages for similar sized properties.
For one-bed apartments and two-bed houses, rents are more than double the cost of a mortgage.
Councillor Jackie Healy-Rae says he understands strict lending rules are needed, but says if someone can clearly pay high rent, they shouldn't find it so difficult to get on the property ladder.
The latest Daft Rental Report also shows very low availability of properties.
Councillor Jackie Healy-Rae says new houses need to be built, and the government should incentivise people to rent out properties long-term.
He feels, however, the main way to meet housing demands is to tackle vacant properties, by getting councils to purchase such buildings in towns and villages to create housing.
