Mr. Gabriel Makhlouf:

That is 3.75%. The Deputy's maths are correct. Certainly, if you take a narrow window or snapshot, he is not wrong but I would say a couple of things.

The Deputy mentioned the banks, although there are other winners and losers. When looking at the banks specifically, one needs to look at what happens over a cycle. We have gone through an extraordinary period, which has now ended, of very low rates. That had a different effect on the profitability of Irish banks, which rely more on their deposit and lending functions for their profits than many other banks in Europe do. The fact that rates have increased has had an impact. On the other hand, there will be further consequences as a result of the tighter financial conditions that obtain currently. They will have an impact on those profits. I will invite Mr. Madouros to contribute, as it would be worthwhile to have him expand on this point a little.

The Deputy made a valid point. I want to pay – and we do pay – close attention to how monetary policy is transmitted in Ireland on the deposit side and on the lending side. The role that the deposit facility in the ECB plays, the way it works and what it means for banks will form part of a review of how we at the ECB operationalise our monetary policy framework. We are not ignoring these issues; we are very focused on them.