Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said there 'is not a great problem' with the levels of borrowing made by people to buy property.
Mr Ahern also said those who followed the advice of people who predicted substantial falls in the value of Irish property in the past year would have lost a lot of money.
Speaking at the IMI management conference in Co Wicklow, the Taoiseach also criticised companies which had been winning contracts on the basis of employing people on less than the minimum wage.
