Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government and its predecessor have overseen an improvement in the value of non-performing loans. The rate of change has been extraordinary by European standards. The value of non-performing loans decreased by approximately €10 billion in 2016 alone. A reduction of €10 billion was achieved in a single year. The rate of improvement, by comparison with where we were at the peak, is absolutely massive. I will give some figures to illustrate the point I am making and I am using our own measurements. The Central Bank provides figures for five covered institutions. At the depth of our difficulties in 2015, there was €52.3 billion of non-performing loans. It was a gigantic challenge for families and businesses throughout the State. At the end of the first quarter of this year, that figure was €36.1 billion. There was a change of €16 billion in the value of non-performing loans. Having said that, our rate of non-performing loans is still high by comparison with the European average. We want to see it come down further and it is steadily. Services such as Abhaile and the Personal Insolvency Service of Ireland, as well as commercial enterprises and companies all over the country, are engaging with banks to try to restructure loans on terms that would be mutually beneficial.