Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was not that there should be some term of relief for mortgage holders - we all share that aspiration - it was because the Central Bank, which is independent, would be empowered by the Legislature to direct mortgage rate levels. That created concern in the market. Anyone connected to the lenders would have been made aware of that concern. I am saying there was a cause-and-effect relationship. It is very difficult to explain market movements but there was a cause-and-effect relationship and the advice I received was that there was a 10% reduction, on average, across bank shares at the time and it was attributable to the Dáil being willing to enact such a Bill.