Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This has been the subject of correspondence between the Department of Finance and the Central Bank. The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2015 will ensure that all mortgage holders will have the protection of the code of conduct on mortgage arrears and access to the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman. The actions already taken by the Government to promote competition in the banking sector, including the establishment of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, the credit guarantee scheme and the amendments to section 149 of the Consumer Credit Act to encourage new entrants into the financial sector, are important.

At a recent meeting between the Minister for Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank, the issue of mortgage interest rates was discussed. The Governor provided an update on the ongoing work that he and his officials were carrying out on the issue of the SVRs charged by lenders. The Governor and the Minister noted that the SVRs charged in Ireland were higher than in other euro area countries and had not fallen in line with ECB wholesale rates. The Central Bank will continue researching why this is the case and will publish its results shortly. The Governor will update the Minister on progress in due course.

In terms of the next step, the Central Bank will present the results of its research to the Minister in the coming weeks. He has given a commitment that he will initiate discussions with the six main lenders in Irish banking on the issue and looks forward to hearing their plans for reducing interest rates.

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