Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that additional work in this area will be published. My concern is in regard to the sharp increase in prices in commercial property. I note Professor Lane's point that they are not increasing at the same rate.

I would like to discuss the issue of interest rates and mortgage interest rates. While I acknowledge that a number of lenders have been reducing their interest rates over the past 12 to 18 months they are still double the European average. We expect that ECB interest rates will start to increase in 2019. This is likely to happen sooner rather than later. We have never had the benefit of European average interest rates.

Does Professor Lane see a day when interest rates in Ireland will be in line with the average? If he does, when will it be? Consumers are being ripped off and they find it very difficult to understand how we can talk about NPLs, the drag on banks and so on and then see AIB and Bank of Ireland making profits of €1 billion at a time when they are not paying any tax in the State and are charging twice the interest rates of the European competitors.