Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister. I hope the moral pressure being applied by the Government to Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank will succeed. However, I believe the Minister will accept that is not the full story. The real issue is the wide variation in variable interest rates being charged by the covered institutions. Permanent TSB, for example, reduced its rate to 5.44%. If a new customer manages to get a mortgage with that bank today, however, he or she will be charged 6.2%. The standard variable rate of EBS is 4.8%. KBC is charging 4.6%. It is clear that some of the rates being charged are approximately double that currently being charged by AIB. The Minister is aware that this feeds directly into the level of mortgage arrears being experienced by people. We know that the forthcoming statistics are likely to show a further deterioration in the level of arrears. Is the Minister concerned about the variable interest rates that are being charged on mortgages, particularly by the covered institutions? Surely the key issue that needs to be addressed is the wide disparity among the banks in this regard.

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