Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

They are worth anything to this country now because they will give hope. Imagine if we had a bunch of new employers, indigenous people in small businesses ready to employ people. Would that not inject confidence? That is what the Government needs and Fine Gael is advising the Minister of State of that.

The Minister for Finance could intervene with the banks now. I have been contacted by couples who took out fixed rate mortgages a year ago. The ECB interest rate kept going up and, now that it has come down, they are trapped in fixed rate mortgages. The Minister should intervene with the banks to help them renegotiate their fixed rate downwards. They will suffer a six month penalty, which could be up to €15,000 in some cases that have been brought to me, to get out of those mortgages. We rescued the banks, as did those caught in fixed rate mortgages. We are in different times and all the ground rules have changed. Will the Minister for Finance help to rescue those people so that they can renegotiate with the banks? He should use his leverage. With every move, the Minister for Finance can make a proportion of the people happy and make a difference to the economy.