Is it any wonder that economists can sometimes find it hard to get people to take their views seriously. Just this week, ABN Amro's Dr Dan McLaughlin caused a stir by suggesting that home purchase was more affordable now than in previous years.

Just two days later, Dr Peter Bacon was telling a committee of TDs and senators that average working wages were no longer enough to ensure people could buy houses. "The average industrial wage is insufficient to engage in home ownership in a way that was not the case 20 years ago," Dr Bacon said.

Dr McLaughlin admits house prices are not cheap when judged by the traditional indicator of the ratio of house prices to income. He argues, however, that low interest rates and tax cuts have made this measure outdated. He advocates an affordability index, under which modern day housing costs look better.

Try telling that to young people trying to buy their first home. Shuffling the statistics until the right one comes up to support an argument only lends weight to the old adage about "lies, damned lies and statistics . . ."