Mr. Richie Boucher:

Deputy Wallace asked about the construction sector. We have credit appetite for the construction sector. Obviously, we must be cognisant that property development was a significant problem for banks - less so for Bank of Ireland, but nevertheless a significant issue for us. Again, to refer back to another question, we must be careful not to become completely gun shy. The construction of property is a normal part of an economy. We see some opportunities there. We recognise that one of the issues might be the level of equity that a builder can put into a scheme, but perhaps it just means the scheme starts smaller. What happened in the past is that the value of land started to drive the asking price for the end product. Clearly, the asking price for the end product should be what drives the price of the land and of the construction backwards.

We are prepared to look at different models. We are also prepared to support people who are building under licence with a fixed profit margin, provided they are good builders. A contribution of equity coming in to support the construction industry is happening. I was in North America over the last couple of weeks and equity funds are starting to see this as an opportunity as well for putting equity to work. They have bought property, they see there are opportunities in construction and they would like to examine that. The bank is not a natural equity provider. We put it through funds, but we certainly have an appetite for financing construction activity on a measured basis.