Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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64. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the research carried out by a person (details supplied) based on CSO data for housing completions and house prices between 1975 and 2015, which has found that, contrary to a central principle of the Rebuilding Ireland strategy, the provision of private sector homes here has not led to a reduction in property prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17099/17]

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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70. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government in view of the fact that research has shown that increasing the supply of private housing does not always bring the price of housing under control, if he will consider introducing measures that would prevent further boom and bust in house prices here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17096/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 64 and 70 together.

I refer to the replies to Question No. 339 of 4 April 2017 and Question No. 5 on today's Order Paper.

In addition, the Deputy may wish to note that the Central Bank is working to safeguard financial stability through its macro prudential instruments. The primary objective of the residential mortgage lending measures is to increase the resilience of borrowers and the banking sector to the property market and reduce the risk of bank credit and house price spirals from developing in the future.

Based on Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) data, new residential mortgage drawdown lending amounted to almost €5.7bn (46% of which was drawn down by FTBs) in 2016.  While this represents an increase of 16% on the 2015 level of €4.9bn (the corresponding figure in 2014 was €3.9bn and in 2013 €2.5bn), it remains well below the levels of new lending which prevailed before and even immediately following the financial crash (i.e. when levels of lending was approximately €40bn in 2006, €34bn in 2007, and €23bn in 2008).