Cowen issues warning as mortgage lending tops €100bn

The Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has urged people to be careful about making investments after mortgage lending topped €100bn for the first time.

However, the Irish League of Credit Unions wants the Government to change the law so that lending can be increased over five- and 10-year periods.

The league’s vice-president, Uel Adair, said today: "One of the issues that must be changed, we believe, is under the 1997 Act, which restricts the actual amount of money that unions can lend out over five and 10 years.

"We believe that we should be able to operate on a level playing field and the restrictions should be lifted to allow Credit Unions the opportunity to be able to lend over longer periods of time," he said.