Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It was the biggest provider in the market and it charged the highest rate of APR at 1.87%. Over a 12-month period, the APR comes down to about 1.57%. The interest it would have charged on a €1,000 loan was €560. The Minister of State is proposing to bring that down to €480. That is an improvement but it still immoral. The fact that the Minister of State is asking us to legislate to allow for these types of high-cost loans is problematic. Many moneylenders do not even charge that rate at this point in time; some of them are below that. It is crazy that the Government is suggesting that we would say that charging this level of interest is legally permissible. The Minister of State claimed in the Dáil Chamber that this legislation would reduce the APR on a 12-month loan to 48%. Does he wish to correct that?