Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The former Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Brian Hayes, said it was a disgrace. Either he was playing politics or he genuinely believes it. There are people in Fine Gael - maybe even the Minister, or the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, who is sitting beside him - who believe the variable interest rates are a disgrace and need to be reduced in line with the ECB reductions. Could they please find it in themselves to state that they agree with Mr. Hayes's statement that the interest rates are a disgrace? At least say something.

The Minister was correct when he said the banks were insolvent. They were rescued by the Irish people. The reason they are returning to profit is not some magical potion that is being concocted in the headquarters of AIB or Bank of Ireland but the exorbitant rates they are charging, the fact that they have not written off debt for struggling mortgage holders, the increased fees they charge and the fact that they have sacked thousands of workers and closed branches. Given that the banks have returned to profitability, they should be asked to consider reducing their variable interest rates, as the Government did when it first took office, when it was in tune with the Irish people. In the first year of the Government's term, it called the heads of the banks into Government Buildings and spoke to them about this matter, and they responded. Now, the Government has done a Pontius Pilate and washed its hands of it.

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