Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have two main topics. I will come to Priory Hall later, but my main question is on variable interest rates versus tracker mortgages. Last April-May the ECB reduced its interest rates, but this was not passed on to customers with variable interest rate mortgages. Then there was a 0.4% increase for AIB customers with variable rate mortgages and a 0.25% increase for those in EBS. I said in the Dáil at the time that there seemed to be a syndication between what the ECB did and what AIB did with its variable interest rate mortgages. The point has already been made that outside the distressed loans category there are quite a number of mortgage holders who are feeding their mortgages possibly before they are feeding their children. They are struggling to pay their mortgages and succeeding, but an interest rate increase could tip them over the edge and then the bank will have to deal with that issue. Every time this happens there is a conversation about passing on interest rate cuts to variable rate customers and it does not happen. The last time there was an increase. It has been suggested to me that the accumulated wisdom among the delegates is that a 5.5% interest rate for variable rate mortgage holders is the most sustainable for the bank to continue in the future and that the current rate is unsustainable. I would like to get AIB's response to this. Is what has been suggested to me wrong?

Does Mr. Duffy believe rates can remain at the current level? What does he foresee happening in the future in regard to variable interest rate mortgages and how does he react to the charge that AIB is forcing variable interest rate mortgage holders to pay for tracker mortgage holders remaining as they are?