Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister said the European Banking Authority guidelines suggest not extending a payment break. That is not what the guidelines allow for. In fact they allow for any extension to take place on the condition that it is announced and applied for before tomorrow. That is where the Minister has failed to deal with this issue. Deputy Ó Cuív is completely right. If this was done, banks would not have to hold additional capital and loans which cannot go back to full repayment of capital and interest would not be classified as non-performing. Crucially, the SMEs and mortgage holders in question would not be given a negative rating by the credit register. That rating will impact their terms of borrowing for the next several years. That is the consequence of the Minister's unfortunate inaction.

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