Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister for his reply. How rigorously will the banks' lending practices be scrutinised by Government to ensure that they are meeting their obligations and commitments? Is the Minister aware of another problem which is about to occur regarding lending by banks? The chief executive officer of Bank of Ireland, Mr. Richie Boucher, pronounced earlier this week that Bank of Ireland will raise interest rates for mortgage and business lending. Does the Minister share my concern that some of these banks may be prohibitively expensive in terms of their lending and that we are back to square one?

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