Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My final question relates to tracker mortgages which, while not on the agenda of the ECOFIN meeting, are tied up with the overall bank debt negotiations. I raise the issue with the Minister in light of the cut in interest rates announced by the European Central Bank last week and the continuing upward drift of variable rates. The gap between variable and tracker rates for mortgage holders is growing.

There was a suggestion earlier in the process that as part of the overall negotiation, we would seek to warehouse tracker mortgages underpinned by funding from the ESM or possibly the ECB. The theory was that such a move might improve the funding position of the banks and take some of the pressure off the variable rate customers whom the banks are looking to squeeze time and time again. Is that a live part of the negotiations that are taking place? Perhaps it is in the background. Is the tracker issue still being considered as part of the overall attempt to put the banking system on a sustainable footing? It seems to me that the issue will have to be dealt with. The banks are haemorrhaging losses on such mortgages. They have to impose additional fees and charges on variable rate mortgages and SMEs in order to increase their margins. I know it is not as simple as offsetting one against the other. There is no doubt that the tracker situation has put the banks under enormous pressure. Is that still being actively worked on?