'It's very stressful' - Irish mother selling her family home to help sons get their own house

An Irish mother has said her and her mother have been left with no choice but to put their family home on the market to give their sons money towards their own house.

Speaking on Newstalk on Thursday afternoon, Lisa, mother of three sons aged 31, 28 and 21, explained that her and her husband would "like to move onto the next stage in their lives. So much so, that we have actually put our family home on the market to downsize and to give them deposits".

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"It's very stressful," she continues, "They don't really want to be living at home with me, I'm sure."

According to new figures from the CSO's Longitudinal Growing Up in Ireland study, a staggering 41% of people between 18 and 34 are living at home with their parents.

"What can you do? They're caught in this trap of not being able to afford to buy anything," Lisa added, "They all work, they're all brilliant.

"I joke to them, 'We're selling the house, bring the dogs and the youngest fella in that order. We try and keep it as light as you can but it's modern living - it's difficult.

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Lisa said times were different when she grew up.

"When myself and my husband got married, we bought a tiny cottage and we spent every penny doing it up. But we were able to buy it, now it's this untenable thing - it's so difficult to get on the property ladder.

"So, we're hoping by doing this, we're giving them the step [up] they need and that they can progress their life," she added.