Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am not convinced. Mr. O'Kelly has explained every single case away. Each country has a good reason as to why its interest rate is a bit different, including domestic factors and every other factor Mr. Kelly just mentioned. I am sure that if the governments of those countries were asked a similar question in their parliaments, they would find other reasons as well.

I am just saying that the global picture of the 3.3% is still very high in an era of declining interest rates. We will be asking the NTMA to do whatever it can to bring forward and buy out some of the longer term and more expensive debt because every one tenth of 1% saving by that organisation delivers €200 million to the Exchequer. The money and the scale of what the NTMA is doing is phenomenal. If the HSE or any other Department had an extra €200 million, it would be serious money. I am concerned that because of the scale of the figures it deals with, the NTMA is probably not focusing on the impact a 1% saving could have on the wider economy.