Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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67. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that sub-prime lending has ceased or that any evidence exists of interest rates reminiscent of a previous era continuing to apply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18043/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Sub-prime lenders usually lend to borrowers who are unable to borrow from traditional lenders usually due to insufficient income or poor credit history. They charge higher interest rates due to the higher risk involved.

Moneylenders are licensed by the Central Bank of Ireland to engage in the business of Moneylending under Part VIII of the Consumer Credit Act, 1995 (as amended). The total cost of credit to the consumer under a moneylending agreement may be in excess of an APR of 23 per cent so could be considered a form of sub-prime lending.

However the phrase is often used to refer to mortgage lending and the new macro prudential regulations introduced earlier this year by the Central Bank of Ireland were put in place to support more sustainable mortgage lending and to increase the resilience of the banking and household sectors in relation to the property market. The regulations set certain loan to value and loan to income restrictions on residential mortgage lending and will apply to all mortgage lenders regulated by the Central Bank, including retail credit firms.

It should be noted that these regulations are additional to an individual lenders credit policies and are not designed to replace the requirements on regulated lenders to assess the affordability of credit and compliance with the other consumer protection measures as set out in the 2012 Consumer Protection Code.

Lists of authorised retail credit firms and moneylenders are available on the Central Bank's website.