Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that the Minister will write a letter to the Central Bank asking it to do exactly as I asked it to do in a previous letter. The Minister mentioned the "data, if available"; he knows the data is available. These are the rules the banks must abide by, and every quarter they cannot exceed 15% or 20% of the exceptions. The data is available. They must have it, record it and report it to the Central Bank.

Permanent tsb included the data in its financial returns. Permanent tsb gave the data to the Minister for Finance and he put it on the record of the Dáil. The Minister for Finance is the major, and almost only, shareholder in AIB. While one can look for aggregated data relating to other financial institutions, where we have a 99% shareholding in an institution we should be at least saying, if not directing, that it would be helpful if the bank we own tells us whether it is using the 15% exceptions under loan-to-value and the 20% exceptions under loan-to-income to the full of its ability. This could potentially be €400 million of mortgage lending that could be provided if it is not using it. However, we do not know; we are in the dark. Then we have political parties scurrying about and suggesting that we might introduce measures whereby the Exchequer would pay €1 for every €2 that individuals save, because they are finding it difficult to meet the loan-to-value targets, when we do not know whether the banks are using the exceptions that are allowed for under the rules.

We must have some straight talking. Before taking office the Minister was known as a person who talks straight so I hope he will say that it would be helpful if AIB would give the information to the House, as Permanent tsb has, as to whether it is using the leeway provided under the rules. We can deduce from the information Permanent tsb has provided that it is not using the leeway. It is only using 11%. Therefore, what are we doing about the major problem here? People are being frustrated as a result of these rules. They cannot get mortgages because the rules are putting such a constriction on them and we are thinking about coming up with policies that would help them fulfil the rules. I ask the Minister to go beyond writing a letter to the Central Bank. We have already asked for that, and I welcome that a letter is being sent. However, I ask the Minister at least to make a statement saying that AIB should provide the same type of information that Permanent tsb has provided.

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