Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Burgess, Mr. Goor and Mr. McNally for appearing before the committee today. I thank the campaign group for all the work it has done over the last few years. It started with the Permanent TSB issue and the rates of over 6%, which affected Mr. McNally. I thank Mr. McNally and Mr. Goor for sharing their personal stories. They are representative of many thousands of others who are affected by high variable rates. There is an onus on us to act and I believe we have made a good start. There has been some progress. Some of it is attributable to the campaign's work and the pressure in the Oireachtas, which in turn forced the Minister to meet the banks and raise the issue. It had not even been on the agenda until all of us worked collectively to get it there.

I have some brief questions for Mr. Burgess. The issue he highlights, the discrimination between existing customers and new customers, is a key one. Is that particular to Ireland? In Europe fixed rates are far more common, with many customers on long-term fixed rates. However, that discrimination undoubtedly exists. Perhaps the Central Bank already has the power to deal with that under the consumer protection provisions, but I am not sure.

If all of the rates in the market were around 3% to 3.5%, where AIB is positioned currently, would legislation such as this be warranted? Will he give us an idea of the cost of funds the banks are currently enjoying in the market? They do not get all of their money from the ECB; it is a combination of wholesale funding, deposits and some ECB money. Mr. Burgess is something of an expert on this issue. What is the cost of funds the banks typically face now?