Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I only have a little over a minute left. I am glad the Future Ireland Fund was referenced. The representatives highlighted the need for investment in infrastructure, great and small, throughout the State, which is obviously the whole reason for that fund to exist. They are right it is economically prudent to do so. It is one that is good to have in our armoury. However, I also noted the comment that it is not enough. What is ever enough when we are dealing with the uncertainty we are heading into? Is there an ideal scenario for a fund or range of funds, not just on infrastructure, given the openness of the economy? Is there a need for similar funds directly related to different sectors within the economy?

The regulatory perspective, and I was glad the witnesses were coming in, might not be in the Central Bank's remit, but something I raised previously that is to do with the Central Bank is the matter of lifetime mortgages and the regulation around them. There is more prescriptive regulation on websites about the impact on people aged over 60 who are being enticed with this product than there is on TV and radio. That is a ticking time bomb for us in this country. The number of senior citizens we will have in this State vis-à-vis social welfare and other healthcare investments was alluded to. I will highlight to the deputy governor that this is something the Central Bank needs to seriously look at because it will have a knock-on impact for people who go for fair deal or other schemes when they go to release equity in their home, if it has already been released without the full knowledge of the implications of such. Can Mr. Madouros come back on that?