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

Notwithstanding everything Ms McDonagh stated regarding variable rates not being the area in which the bank is really competing, a quarter of the bank's total mortgage accounts are on a variable rate, which is high relative to its competitors in the market, although the number is falling. Ms McDonagh provided statistics regarding the number who have moved to a fixed-rate offering. Can the bank do more to accelerate that? It is bordering on criminal for a customer to be paying 4.5% today on their mortgage. It is significantly out of line with the market, given that Bank of Ireland is offering a fixed rate of 2.9%, Ulster Bank offers a rate as low as 2.3% and Finance Ireland, a new non-bank lender, also comes in cheaper than the Bank of Ireland rates. To have a quarter of the bank's mortgage accounts on a variable rate does not present a pretty picture.