The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Sharon Donnery, has said the response to its public consultation on the mortgage rules framework has been the largest ever received by the bank.
The mortgage rules framework places limits on loans according to income levels and deposits.
They were introduced in 2014 and are currently undergoing an extensive review. This review began last year and is expected to be completed later this year.
The Central Bank is hosting a two-day webinar with international experts to discuss mortgage rule policies.
In her opening address today, the Deputy Governor said the rules have always aimed to increase "the resilience of banks and borrowers to negative economic and financial shocks" and to prevent credit-house price spirals from emerging again.
Sharon Donnery stated that targeting house prices is not the aim of the mortgage rules and that many, complex factors influence prices which are outside the control or mandates of central banks.
Ms Donnery repeated evidence from studies carried out by the Central Bank and the ESRI that prices would have been higher were it not for the mortgage rules.
The Deputy Governor said preventing credit-house price spirals may seem "academic" to potential first-time buyers but "there are societal risks with simply allowing households to borrow more, only so that they can purchase housing at even higher prices due to elevated construction costs."
She also said that the number of homes being built in the Irish market is "weaker" than what might have been expected given how prices have risen since 2013.
