Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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272. To ask the Minister for Finance the steps the government are taking to ensure that people can get mortgages for over the shop properties (details supplied). [40851/26]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There are certain legal and regulatory requirements Central Bank regulated banks and other lenders have to meet when providing mortgage credit to consumers.

For example, lenders have to comply with the Central Bank's macro-prudential measures for residential mortgage lending which apply loan-to-value and loan-to-income requirements in relation to residential mortgage lending.

In addition, the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016 require lenders to assess the creditworthiness of the borrower and provide that mortgage credit should only be made available where the result of the creditworthiness assessment indicates that the consumer’s obligations resulting from the credit agreement are likely to be met in the manner required under that agreement.

Within the legal and regulatory framework for the provision of mortgage credit, it is then a commercial matter for each bank and other regulated mortgage lender to determine its own credit policies. This includes in relation to a desired repayment record on any existing or previous loan or the type of security it will accept for mortgage lending purposes, and to make its own lending decisions on an application for new credit.

Ultimately, the decision on whether or not to provide credit in response to a particular credit application is a commercial decision for the individual lender.

As Minister for Finance, I have no role in such commercial decision making by banks or other mortgage lenders.

Nevertheless, the Central Bank revised Consumer Protection Code 2025 provides that, where a Central Bank regulated entity does not approve a personal consumer’s formal application for credit it shall provide to the consumer the reasons why the credit was not approved and, if so requested, it shall provide those reasons in writing.

If a person is still not happy with the way that a bank or any other Central Bank regulated firm is dealing with him/her, or if the person feels that the regulated entity is not complying with the relevant financial services legal or regulatory requirements in relation to an application for mortgage credit, the person should make a formal complaint directly to the regulated firm in the first instance.

If a consumer is not satisfied with the response from the regulated firm, the person can then refer the complaint to the statutory Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman.