Sep 13, 2012 - 09:52

Almost two fifths of mortgage applications being turned down

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Almost two fifths of mortgage applications were turned down by Irish banks last year, according to new figures contained in a letter from Finance Minister Michael Noonan to Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath.

In total there were 28,500 applications for mortgages last year. However, only 17,700 were approved by AIB, Bank of Ireland, EBS and Permanent TSB.

That means 38% of applications were turned down.

Commentators insist that the true figure is likely to be even higher as a number of applications did not include information from EBS.

Speaking on Morning Ireland today, Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman Michael McGrath said the figures fly in the face of attempts to reignite the property market.

He said: “I think these figures are very worrying at a time when the Government is trying to put in place initiatives to kick-start the property sector.”