Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While the data indicate that mortgage lending is picking up, it is coming from a position where it had collapsed completely. As the Minister has also pointed out on many occasions, percentage based statistics can be very misleading.

The level of mortgage lending is exceptionally low. From my daily dealings with constituents, it is clear that their ability to access a mortgage has been severely hampered. The recent changes introduced by the Central Bank are a form of social engineering which will place home ownership beyond the reach of thousands of families. Perhaps this is a strategy or vision for the future. People who have married or had a couple of children since moving into an apartment and wish to move into a more suitable home are trapped because they will not be able to meet the new requirements. The Central Bank has provided limited leeway for the banks to extend mortgages outside the rules but feedback suggests this leeway has been exhausted and that the banks are not in a position to lend new mortgages outside the strict rules in place. I ask the Minister to acknowledge that the Central Bank's rules for mortgage lending are having an impact. As far as I can discern, its primary motivation has been to protect the banks and give them an additional buffer in the event of property prices falling, loans entering arrears and repossessions taking place. While the new rules protect the balance sheets of the banks, they are not in the interests of ordinary people who have a legitimate aspiration to own their own home.

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