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

Just to clarify, there is no deadline on putting customers back on the correct rate. There is a deadline for the banks to complete their assessment of their mortgage books, but we have it in writing from Bank of Ireland that no deadline has been imposed by the Central Bank on putting customers back on the correct rate. The priority now has to be ensuring that customers who were contractually entitled to a tracker rate are not on a made up tracker rate of 3.67% but, rather, a tracker rate that is relevant to the contract into which they entered initially.

Beyond all of that, we need to know how this issue was handled within the banks when they became aware of the problem. Not a single bank put up its hands, said it had found a problem and that it would address it. In each case, it was forced upon them by way of customers taking cases to the ombudsman or to court and the Central Bank eventually becoming involved. How is it that when this issue was first brought to the attention of banks or they identified it they did not put up their hands and deal with it?

I hope the Central Bank will go back to the minutes of meetings when the issue was discussed and examine the decisions that were made by banks not to confront and deal with the matter at that time. If the Central Bank is to carry out a proper probe, that is the level of detail into which it needs to go because the investigation has to be a watershed moment for the Central Bank and our banking system. If we cannot take issues at trust, we need to use the full powers that are at the disposal of the Central Bank.

See this speech in context