Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform
Report on Licensed Moneylending Industry: Central Bank of Ireland
3:45 pm
Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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More than 80% of the market is performing. Perhaps I am wrong, but the interest rate applied to a loan is based on risk - that is, whether the borrower will repay the money. As Ireland discovered in the international monetary markets before we entered the bailout programme, we could not get affordable money because the interest rate increased. That was 8.5%, but we are discussing 287%. How is that an affordable interest rate, particularly given the fact that 80% plus of the market is performing? It does not equate.