Ms Francesca McDonagh:

I thank Deputy Doherty for his questions. A couple of weeks ago I shared our strategy and its key elements with the market and our investors. The first key element we focused on was growth and increasing our loan book. We have set out an intent to increase our net loan book by 20% between now and 2021 and some 65% of that is expected to be in Ireland. Not all but a big part of that will be mortgages for consumers and home builders construction and also SMEs that are related to the home building sector or industry in some way. We have been very explicit and clear in setting out a growth ambition.

There are two elements that enable this to happen, first the economic environment we operate - we have based our growth on how GDP will continue to increase and grow in Ireland at a slightly lower rate. We also base that growth intent on the credit and risk appetite. We want to make credit available to the corporate sector to build properties that are needed but they have to be within a risk appetite. To lend in a way that is non-sustainable or not to consider the risk parameters appropriately would be bad for this sector in the economy and the individuals concerned. We have been conservative and prudent in the way we have lent to large corporates as well as consumers and that has been evident by our track record in credit risk management. We are not going to change our risk appetite statement and risk appetite in general to lend in a way that would be unsustainable as this would impact on the broader economy. We have been explicit about a €1 billion fund for construction and development, the majority of which is in Ireland and we have set out our growth plan. After ten years of a reduction in lending in Ireland, we see that changing and normal lending beginning again. We put 65% of our lending ambition in Ireland, particularly around construction, home building and home buying.

I hope that gives the Deputy an indication of our intent to support the growth in Ireland in a sustainable way.