Madam, – I agree wholeheartedly with Michael Durkan (September 3rd). I too come from a private school background, and I am married to a solicitor who also comes from a private school background. My husband worked every summer in America to save for his tuition and living expenses for the many years he dedicated to become a practising solicitor – living for the weekends when he could go home to his parents to be supplied with home-grown vegetables and enough food to feed himself for a week until such a time as he could practise and start earning a living.
Having a small practice with two partners, those earnings were never the excesses that a minority of solicitors enjoyed during the decade of madness. Now the profession is in a crisis and no one cares.
Though life was slightly better during the Celtic Tiger, for us, like any young couple, it was only just enough to allow us to saddle ourselves with oppressive mortgages and buy nice cars (if one can consider a second hand Peugeot 206 a nice car. My husband doesn’t and he faired better than I due to hard saving and a deep love of motoring). When I personally bought my first home at the peak of the boom, it was in a panic because I thought that if I didn’t jump then, I would never be able to afford to buy a house – probably at a time when those in government knew of the impending crisis – just months away – due to an overheated property market. It was a desperate act based in fear of never being able to leave my parents’ home, and I the grand old age of 30.
Stupid risky lending by banks allowed me to take out a loan 10 times my salary, having no history of ability to save. Now I am stuck with a house in massive negative equity (though happily I met my husband as a result of its purchase). Now I’m sharing my husband’s house, the rental income I receive from this previous purchase doesn’t come close to covering its mortgage, and I have no options now, or probably for the next 10 years, but to bear this millstone around my neck.
And yet somehow it is my generation of middle-income earners who must bear the brunt of the pain. There is no Government bailout or Nama for us – nor could we ever hope to qualify for any that might come, as our gross incomes will be too high even though our net take is small after all the taxes, mortgages, car loans and creche come out.
There’s no positive media coverage for us, sure after all, aren’t we just rich, over-privileged products of a private education living the high life off the backs of the lower class?
Incidentally, can one presume that Vincent Browne has contacted the Revenue to volunteer more of his earnings in tax to help those he has such solidarity with? – Yours, etc,