Ms Francesca McDonagh:

In a competitive market we can have a lot of differentiation but we also want to have simplicity. I agree with the Deputy that a lot of people do not know what their interest rate is. Varying it and having a proliferation of different pricing mechanisms can actually cause complexity, which is not necessarily helpful either. We have gone for more simplicity in our mortgage offering so the 2.9%, which is the lowest rate we offer, is regardless of LTV. What we see, particularly because of the growth in first-time buyers in Ireland and because the demand for first-time buyer property is so high, is that this is actually very attractive because for first-time buyers whose LTV would typically be a bit higher, that is actually a more attractive proposition.