Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

On behalf of the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, I wish to speak about the changes in interest rates in the last week. The Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, are abroad on business.

The level of inter-bank interest rates is a matter for the European Central Bank, which is entirely independent of any Government in relation to its monetary policy activities, and the individual financial institutions operating in the market. It is important for me to stress that neither the Government nor any Minister has a function in respect of the setting of interest rates, either on mortgages or more generally. This is a function of the competitive forces within the market.