The Fine Gael minister said he was ‘misquoted’ and denied making the comments at the weekend.

Of those who expect to still be repaying a mortgage come retirement, over a third of the cohort expect the mortgage payments to still be ‘significant’ at that stage.

Hosted by journalist Siobhan Maguire, this podcast is The Ultimate Guide to Home Ownership’, tackling everything from grants and mortgages to moving advice

Mr Varadkar made the comments at the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday night and was referring to findings in the National Economic and Social Council

Lower home ownership rates would mean a higher proportion of households making rental payments into retirement, the report says.