I draw attention to the headline from an article in the Irish Examiner by Caroline O'Doherty about yesterday's report by Davy Stockbrokers on the housing market which stated, "Property buyers borrow too much yet again". The article stated:

Home-buyers are once again overstretching themselves with outsized mortgages in the fresh frenzy to get on the property ladder. In echoes of the recklessness that preceded the crash, some banks are lending up to 4.5 times combined income when a maximum of three to four times is considered prudent ... [Davy has] called on the Central Bank to intervene to ensure loans do not exceed 80% the value of a property and that lenders carry out proper stress tests.

This is advocated by Senators on this side of the House through No. 32 on the Order Paper.

It is also relevant to freedom of information, which we will discuss tomorrow. The Central Bank of Ireland, at the instigation of the European Central Bank, wants exemption from freedom of information. I tabled an amendment on Committee Stage, which the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, is considering. I cannot think of a sector in the world less deserving of exemption from freedom of information than the Irish banking sector. Let us not allow it tomorrow afternoon when the Minister comes here. We cannot have the closed approach and secrecy in banking supported by Europe and carried out by the people who have already had one turn at wrecking the country.

Well said.