A new survey has found that more than 70% of Irish people are unhappy with the Central Bank’s mortgage lending rules.

The survey of 1,000 people around the country found that 59% are in favour of certain changes to the rules, while a further 12% want them to be scrapped altogether. When it came to first time buyers, 48% of people believed the rules should be relaxed for them.

The findings, released by mutual life and pensions company Royal London, arrive as new figures show the average price of mortgages in Dublin skyrocketed from €38,000 to €51,000 last year. That 28% increase in the capital was joined by jumps in Cork (rising to €32,000) and Galway (up to €27,000), as well as a €4,000 increase to €20,000 for the country overall. It raises fresh concerns that mortgages will now be out of reach for most workers in the country.

Central Bank Governor Professor Philip Lane has suggested that the rules will be reviewed this summer.

It isn’t just prospective homeowners that are being hit. High deposit rates are also being blamed for making renting even more expensive. Karl Deeter of Irish Mortgage Brokers & Advisors.ie noted that high mortgage deposits are forcing people to stay in rented accommodation and fueling the housing shortage.

Deeter said: "If you've got people who have to come up with an extra 20,000 and they’re looking to save that, they end up renting a house for much longer than they would have. But because of that what you’re seeing is that they’re staying in a certain sector where the supply isn’t coming on board.

"It’s driving up rents. That’s almost like an additional tax which makes savings harder. It doesn’t mean that house sales have stopped or the prices aren’t rising; they are but it’s just that people aren’t borrowing to do it".

Rents in Dublin have risen by close to one-third since their lowest point five years ago. Nationwide, market supply reached its lowest point on record last month.