Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Hayes and Mr. Carthy. It is very good to have interaction between MEPs and members of the various committees. I will not go over the ground covered by the two previous speakers so I will move on slightly. I have two questions.

First, the average Irish mortgage is probably double the European average. Is there any proposal for, or do our guests envisage, an EU-wide mortgage facility? Mortgage terms elsewhere in the European Union are much longer than in Ireland. The vast majority are 35 years or longer, and in some cases up to 50 years. Do our guests envisage our being able to obtain a European mortgage? It would put a lot of pressure on the banks here to bring down their mortgage rates and it would bring more competition to the market here. This should be examined. I would like to hear our guests' views on it.

The second issue concerns insurance. Quite a number of businesses have closed down recently because of the high cost of insurance here. In my home town, a pub called Bosh, owned by Mr. Michael McDonald, has closed because his annual insurance premium is €67,000. It is an ordinary pub that does a bit of food. Obviously, Mr. McDonald had a couple of claims but the insurance premium is outrageous for a small business in the west.

Elsewhere in Europe, the insurance set-up is different from that in Ireland. The state takes some of the responsibility in some European countries.

If one changes from one insurance company to another in some European countries, the state part of it does not kick in, I think, for about six months, so there are differences in this regard. While the European Union says there must be competition and one is allowed to switch from insurance company to insurance company, there are differences in the way in which insurance companies operate right around Europe. In some cases it seems the state covers part of the premium or pays out in some instances, perhaps for flooding or whatever else. If this were the case, it could well reduce the cost of insurance in Ireland, so perhaps the witnesses and the European Parliament should look at this. I would like to hear their views on it.