Central Bank to announce decision on mortgage restrictions within days

A decision on whether home buyers will be required to have a 20 per cent deposit before being approved for a mortgage will be announced in the "coming days", the Central Bank of Ireland Governor Patrick Honohan said today.

Speaking on the fringe of a conference in Dublin organised by the IMF, Mr Honohan declined to comment on whether the proposed new rules would be watered down following opposition from the department of finance and other groups in a recent consultation process.

On the possibility of social partnership being revived in Ireland by unions and employers, Mr Honohan said: “There’s been good social partnership in the past and there’s been some episodes that have not been so successful. We’ll wait and see.”

The governor said he had no concerns that AIB chief executive David Duffy's decision to leave the bank would derail its return to private ownership. "Ah no...the effectiveness of the management of the banks has improved so ...good luck [TO HIM]."

Mr Honohan said he is “not keen” on Irish banks writing back provisions on bad property loans that were booked since the crash in 2008, adding that it was too early for such moves.