Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 4 April 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Banking Sector: Quarterly Engagement with Central Bank of Ireland

10:00 am

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Why did Professor Lane go for such an expansive measure? There is now a situation where a person could buy a €1 million home and they could be regarded as a first-time buyer. I am being slightly facetious, but take someone in Dublin looking to buy a €400,000 first-time home and they can look for a loan of 90%. Surely by lifting a complete limit that would effectively add to the increase in the price of houses. Why did the Central Bank not lift the limit from €220,000 to say €300,000 or €350,000? Why was the limit removed completely?

Has that move in itself added fuel to the fire in terms of the increase in the price of houses?