Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We had Ulster Bank here earlier saying the money it is currently providing for site finance and working capital for new home development is about 10% of what it was providing at the height of the boom. If every bank applied that, we would have about 8,000 houses built a year, less than half of where the market is at. I want to know what Bank of Ireland is currently providing for site finance and working capital for builders as a percentage of what it provided at the height of the boom.

People are now struggling to get affordable homes. Might there be a rationale in place whereby the banks are seeing their own balance sheets improving due to the fact that the price of property is improving, without providing working capital and site finance? Why would they provide this when the law of supply and demand would mean they would only bring down the value of the property that is ultimately backing their loans? Relative to what it provided at the height of the boom, what site finance and working capital facility is Bank of Ireland now providing for start-up homes?