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

I thank the Minister for his response. I am sure it will not have escaped him that, so far, not a single bank has reduced its variable interest rate as a result of the meeting held with him, although there is another week to go. AIB had pre-announced a rate cut before meeting with the Minister, while Bank of Ireland has announced a reduction in its fixed rates. To my knowledge, there has been no response from KBC, Permanent TSB, Ulster Bank or ACC.

Is the Minister going to be satisfied with a situation in which banks come out and announce a reduction in their fixed rates? The whole purpose of this exercise was to bring about reductions in the actual standard variable rates. A fixed-rate mortgage is a different product, as customers are locking in for a period. In the case of Bank of Ireland's existing variable rate customers, if they move to a fixed rate they have to lock in for two years. That comes at a price and has consequences. The purpose of this campaign is to bring down the actual variable rates themselves, which the Minister himself has acknowledged are too high. If the response remains as it is, with a number of the banks not responding at all, what steps will the Minister take to address the issue?

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