Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are still dealing with high mortgage interest costs in the State. When the banks were not willing to move, one of the threats was that if they did not move, the capital reserves they had to hold would be increased, which would have put them at a disadvantage. This was a threat - a bata mór or a big stick - to try to get them to move on the matter. Is the Department considering options such as this, as opposed to moral suasion, to convince the industry to move? If we have other tools in a toolbox and the companies continue to rip off their customers, we could say the Oireachtas could act as a result.