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

I would welcome the introduction of more long-term fixed rate mortgages in Ireland in terms of the offering by the lenders. It de-risks a mortgage for a borrower if they can know with certainty what their repayments are going to be for the next five, ten or 15 years. It offers them certainty and there is real value in that. It is also important to highlight the role the credit unions are increasingly playing in the mortgage market. A number of them are already providing mortgage products. Through the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, I envisage that the number of credit unions offering mortgages will increase significantly over the period ahead. There is a significant initiative under way to improve collaboration across the credit union movement to ensure there is a revised offering available for customers. Credit unions also offer badly needed competition for the main banks in Ireland.

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