Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The two issues are separate and I will not accept them being conflated by the banks or other forces dealing with this matter. When we talk about the money relating to all of this, it is important that the Senator is clear about how I perceive this matter, which is that the people who are receiving money are receiving what was their own money in the first place. They should not have been moved on to the different rates. In many cases, some people incurred a degree of financial loss and for some citizens, the financial loss was gigantic and life changing. While our banks will have to account for it on their balance sheets and with their investors as they deal with this matter - a number of them already have - that needs to happen. This issue must be dealt with because where people have been treated wrongly, we must ensure that it is recognised and dealt with.

On the separate issue put to me by the Senator regarding the difference between the standard euro area mortgage rate or lending rate and the rate in Ireland, there are other factors driving that difference. One of the largest of them is that we still have an amount of non-performing loans in our economy that are having an effect on the balance sheets of the banks, which in turn is having an effect on the rate of interest at which banks can lend out. That matter needs to be dealt with carefully by the banks during the coming period. They are subject to supervision by the Single Supervisory Mechanism in respect of this. In respect of the second factor, which I would like to see change in the future, I would like to see as much competition in our banking sector as possible because that is an antidote to rates being offered to people that might be very high.