Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank him for getting to the point quickly. Split mortgages are a really good solution for many people with distressed mortgages. However, if one is going to hammer one group of customers with a full interest rate while others get a good deal through interest-free warehousing, we are not going to achieve the consistency and fairness we want in bringing about a resolution of the mortgage arrears crisis. I have outlined the stark difference if one warehouses a figure of €100,000 for ten years between Bank of Ireland, AIB and Permanent TSB at €57,000, 0% interest and €10,500, respectively.

In the case of the Minister’s script, it was more of the same about not getting involved in the detail. That is what has been wrong up to now. If we leave these issues to the banks’ own devices, they will not solve the problem. It is welcome that some of them are rolling out split mortgages, with AIB claiming it will reach a figure of 1,400 by the end of the first quarter. I hope a good share of customers take up this offer because it is a good one. It is welcome that the Minister will raise this specific issue with the Central Bank and I hope he will come back to me on it.

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