Noel Ahern

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Noel Ahern (born 28 December, 1944), is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He is a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin North West and is currently the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment & Local Government. Noel Ahern is a brother of the current Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader, Bertie Ahern.

Noel Ahern was born in Drumcondra, Dublin in 1944. He was educated at the Christian Brothers' O' Connell School, Dublin, University College, Dublin and the College of Commerce, Rathmines. He worked as an official with CIÉ before becoming embarking on a career in politics. Ahern first became involved in politics in 1985 when he was elected to Dublin City Council. In 1992 he was elected to Dáil Éireann for the first time and has been re-elected at every subsequent election. Between 1994 and 1997 Ahern served as Opposition spokesperson on the Environment with special responsibility for Housing. In 1997 he served as Chairperson of the Oireachtas All Party Dail Committee on Social Community & Family Affairs. In 2002 he received his current position as Minister of State at the Department of Environment and Local Government, with responsibility for Housing and Urban Renewal, and at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, with responsibility for Drugs Strategy and Community Affairs.

Housing Affordability Controversy

Noel Ahern created controversy in June 2006 when, despite being the minister responsible for housing, he claimed that there were 'many' houses available in Dublin for less than €200,000, which he classed as 'affordable' for first-time buyers. At the time, the difficulty of people on average salaries buying a first home for was seen as particularly acute.

Ahern was quoted as saying there was 'a tendency to get carried away' with the average house price. 'There are many affordable new houses, even in Dublin, under €200,000,' he said. Quoted in the [Irish Examiner]

It was pointed out that a mortgage of €200,000 would require repayments of more than €1,000 per month on a 25-year mortgage. In addition, a search for houses on sale in Dublin at €200,000 or less on Myhome.ie, the largest property website in Ireland, turned up no results. [Myhome.ie] search page

References

|- style="text-align: center;" |- style="text-align: center;" |width="30%" align="center" rowspan=""|Preceded by:
Michael Barrett
(Fianna Fáil)

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