Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government is engaging with the banks all the time. Sometimes the engagement is very robust. I can tell the Deputy that for certain, having been present at some of the meetings. In circumstances where people cannot pay a business loan or a mortgage because of the effect of Covid on their income, mortgage breaks and loan breaks will be available. Other solutions such as interest-only repayments or reduced payments might also be made available. That commitment is there from the banks. It is not a blanket approach but it does apply where somebody genuinely cannot pay as a consequence of his or her income being affected by Covid.

Mortgage rates being higher in Ireland is a separate issue. It is the case that mortgage rates in Ireland are substantially higher than they are in the rest of the EU. They are coming down and they should come down further. We must appreciate that there are two significant differences between Ireland and the rest of the European Union. Bank charges are different. For example, when one sees very low rates in Denmark or Germany, what one does not see is the fact that people are charged in a different way.

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