Yeah, I have recently gone through the approval process with AIB and from the time I first consulted with my broker (beginning of March) until I had an offer accepted (last week) my broker's expectations/predictions of the amount I could ultimately borrow had reduced by about 10%. He put this down to the fact that the banks are getting the spooks over the recent write-downs and the fact that the banks are being forced to take responsiblity for lending too much to their customers in the past. They are determined not to let this happen again.
Having said that, I was still happy with the amount they approved. I have a realistic view of what I can afford and anything over and above the amount I was a approved for would have left me leading a very frugal life, especially in a situation where interest rates increased.