TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said he “remembers the day” he got the keys to his own apartment at the age of “24 or 25″ and says he wants that to be the norm in Irish society.

Speaking on the Last Word on Today FM, Varadkar was asked about spiralling rents and the problems faced by people under the age of 40 in purchasing their own home.

The Taoiseach acknowledged “this is something we have to change”, saying he is a “big believer in home ownership” before talking about his own experience.

“I think private property is a good thing. And the mainstay of private property is actually owning your own home,” Varadkar said. 

And I still remember the day when I got the deeds to my place, turned the key in the door, still live there by the way, my apartment, and sat my own couch and watch my own TV. And I want that to be attainable.

“I’d just started off working as a junior doctor, so I must’ve been about 24 or 25,” Varadkar added when asked what age he was. 

The Taoiseach said he was aware that home ownership for people in their 20s or 30s is increasingly rare.

“I’m very conscious of that because of my age group and because of the fact that I’ve a lot of friends who are in their 30s,” he said.

“And for us was not unusual for somebody in their mid-20s to buy their first place, now people tend to be in their 30s and that’s something that we need to change. ”

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100% mortgage

Varadkar revealed in January 2018 that he took out a 100% mortgage to buy his home and did not get help from his parents.

He made the revelation after facing criticism for saying that “lots” of people get help from their parents to secure a mortgage.