Mr. Gabriel Makhlouf:

It is not happening quickly enough. The rate is still too high; hence the decision we made recently to put up the lending rates again. However, inflation is falling and we are projecting that it will get to just above our target in 2025. As I said to Deputy Doherty earlier, I anticipate that the picture will become a bit clearer in our December projections. What is too hard to do is to say that in this month next year, we will see interest rates start to fall. It would be misleading people if I were to say that today. There is too much uncertainty to say it. However, we have taken action and it is working across the euro area. A big theme of what I said in my statement and what we have been discussing is that monetary policy needs friends. It cannot succeed on its own. It needs fiscal policy to work in the same direction to help us. That is the general message I would give.

For borrowers, especially mortgage holders, who are finding it very hard, my number one piece of advice is to talk to their lender without delay. I would say to people not to let the problem materialise and become bigger.

They should talk to their lender because their lender is obliged to talk to them. Their lender is obliged to find ways to help them. One of the things we learned from the last crisis was too many people hoped that things would get better. Too many people did not talk to their lender early enough and the problem just escalated. That is my number one advice for people who are finding it tough because, as Ms Rowland was saying earlier, there is a toolkit out there to help people in these circumstance but that toolkit can only really be used if the lender and the borrower are engaged and talking to each other.