Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

Is the Minister concerned about the rate of growth in indebtedness? The latest figures show that in the past 12 months alone, private sector indebtedness went up by €55 billion. That is more than the Minister spent in his entire budget this year. The rate of private sector borrowing is now 190% of GNP. In commenting on the past, the Minister has often said that when public sector borrowing was 120% of GNP we were in a precarious situation. What is the Minister's response to the Central Bank when it says that the most worrying aspect of private sector indebtedness patterns is the accelerating speed at with debt is increasing in the context of an already high level of indebtedness? Is the Minister aware that our private sector indebtedness is now the highest in Europe? It is almost double the European average. Does he agree that even a 1% increase in interest rates would wipe out all the benefits of concessions in the budget and elsewhere? Half of our mortgage lending has occurred in the past 24 months. Does that not mean that many young couples have entered into debt commitments that are quite precarious for them against a current background of rising interest rates?

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