A father with a debilitating disease is raffling off his idyllic three-bed home just 15 minutes from the beach 'for the price of a McDonald's meal'.

Steve Rooney, 43, from Co Wexford, Ireland, has listed his family's beautiful cottage, which is 'surrounded by mountains' in the countryside, in the online competition.

Their €200,000 (£171,000) home, sitting on half an acre of land with a huge garden and mobile home, could be yours for as little as £9. 

The cottage, which the family said will 'give somebody a new, mortgage-free life', will come fully furnished with €90,000 (£77,000) worth of renovations done to the property over the last few years including a new kitchen, toilets, floors – 'everything you can think of'.

A winning raffle ticket will also include a 60-inch smart TV worth €1,500 (£1,285), a super king-sized bed, three double beds, an American-style fridge freezer, dishwasher, oven, lawnmower and garden furniture.

The property, located 10km (six miles) (six miles) from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, is surrounded by 'stunning mountain views' and has been described as the 'perfect home, holiday home or even potential holiday let'.

Mr Rooney, who has been left disabled and unable to work due to a years-long battle with ulcerative colitis, said he took the unusual decision to raffle off his home to avoid going through estate agents who 'do nothing'.

Instead, a portion of the funds raised via the online competition will be donated to a children's cancer charity to 'help pay their fuel costs for a year'.

Mr Rooney told the Daily Mail: 'I'm sick of estate agents because we've moved two or three times in the past five years and I thought there must be a way to give to charity instead of paying estate agents €20,000 (£17,000) for doing nothing.

'They don't do anything apart from give people a tour of your house and you end up feeling like you could have sold your house yourself instead of them ripping you off.

'Five per cent of raffle sales will go to the charity. We're aiming to sell 120,000 tickets for €10 (£9) each and even if we made at least €70,000 (£60,000) that would be enough to pay for the charity's fuel for a year.

'I wanted to choose a charity in England and Ireland as I have lots of family in both countries, even though I didn't think I'd find one.

'We got the idea from a friend who said he saw someone raffling something online. I said "that looks mental" and it's not easy to get the word out when you have no budget to advertise it.'

The father said 5 per cent of the money raised from the raffle will be donated to the Children and Young People's Cancer Association, based in Leicester, adding: 'I was thinking about where I'd want the money to go - kids at end of life.

'I've got four young daughters and people don't realise what these charities do for children. There's nothing worse than a sick child because they don't get a chance in life to live like we have.

'I've been nearly dead a couple of times but I'm able to say I've lived a life. My disability has nearly finished me a couple of times when my colon nearly exploded.

'Charities don't get large amounts of money like this. They can hold fundraisers to help raise donations (but it's hard). Why give 20,000 to an estate agent when you can give that to charity.'

Mr Rooney has revealed that his family made the 'heartbreaking' decision to raffle their 'perfect' countryside home as his wife, Clora, works away in Dublin during the week while he stays at home to look after his daughters, as his disability has left him unable to work.

He said: 'It means we're apart for half the week, and while she's away I'm at home looking after our four daughters on my own while managing my disability and health every day. It's not easy, but we do everything we can to keep our family together.'

The family will use the money raised from the raffle tickets to set up a new life in Dublin and help fund Mr Rooney's psychology degree, which he is studying towards from home and plans to use to 'employ himself and help others'.

He added: 'We hope one lucky person gets the chance to own a beautiful property in Ireland while giving our family the opportunity to make a fresh start.'