Professor Philip Lane:

On discrimination, ultimately if the Oireachtas wanted to write down laws it is definitely within what it could do. It is a feature of many markets and not just financial markets that this type of differentiation takes place. So long as we have a commercial banking system, if some lenders chose to make that differentiation, short of writing the law the Deputy is suggesting what is open to those existing customers comes back to the general switching debate.

We exhort everyone who has a mortgage to on a regular and repeated basis take a look at and ask what else is out there. We currently have our consultation document on mortgage switching. We advocate the switching process. Already there are lots of gains to be had. The suggestions we have in the consultation document will make it even better. We advocate greater ability to switch. That is absolutely the case.