Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to make two last comments, Chairman, if that is possible and I will be quick. One relates to the financial crash. The banks were in a position to be able to do something about it. The Central Bank allowed the banks to continue to lend incessantly, against fresh air, for want of a better description, as someone commented recently. In other words, there was insufficient collateral to underwrite the level of lending, which was unwise lending, and the Central Bank allowed it to go ahead. As a result, the customer was punished. I, like other members of the committee, have dealt with individuals who found themselves in serious financial difficulty and being told by the banks in the context of a resolution that they were very sorry but they could not accept it and that the loan was unsustainable. The loan was unsustainable on the day it was granted because no provision was made for inflation, rising costs in general, or stability. The customer got hammered.

The most recent examples I see relate to housing. Housing prices are now accelerating at an appalling rate. Vulture funds have got involved between the consumer and the provider. The lending banks can borrow money at a very low interest rate on the European markets. A means can and should be found to ensure that the intervention of various funds does not increase the price of houses. I will finish on this point. There is a responsibility on the Central Bank in this area. There is no doubt in my mind about that, because the outcome is staring us in the face. It is at the point now where the consumer, the customers, are being asked to pay through the nose for something where the actual cost and value initially was a small sum until investors got involved. I know that there was a necessity for investors. There was nothing happening in the country before that, but we must approach everything on the basis of the most recent experiences and what we have to do now in order to reassure those unfortunate customers.