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

I have two other issues. One is the matter of a Single Market for financial services across Europe. We recently had a vice president of the European Commission, Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, here and I raised this issue with him. As the Minister of State knows, Irish borrowers continue to pay well over the European average in interest rates, including both mortgage holders and commercial borrowers. While we have a Single Market for goods and services, we do not have a Single Market for financial services. If we had a true Single Market, Irish customers could borrow from German banks, French banks and Italian banks and could avail of much lower interest rates. The Commissioner indicated that the European Commission is working on the area. It should be a priority, given that Irish borrowers are paying much more than the eurozone average. Our Government should take a strong interest in this issue. We would all welcome more competition in the Irish banking market but it seems unlikely that that will happen. It is not seen as an attractive market and it is very small. The best way to help consumers at a European level is to bring about a fully functioning Single Market for financial services. Is that a priority for this Government and is it being actively raised, promoted and pushed at a European level?