Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I wish again to raise a particular issue and I have informed the Leader that I will continue to raise it until action is taken. I would appreciate it if the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, not one of his Ministers of State, would come before the House to discuss it. With respect to junior Ministers, it is about time their senior counterparts began coming before the House to take debates.

A survey carried out by the Irish Mortgage Corporation indicates that one in five holders of variable rate mortgages are saving in the region of €500 on their repayments. This is of little consolation to the one in three holders of fixed rate mortgages. Some of the latter are locked into agreements under which they are obliged to pay in excess of 5% in interest. The ECB's rate has been dropping since September last and now stands at 1%. Many people who entered into fixed rate agreements did so on the basis of the good mortgage and financial advice available to them. The forecast at the time was that interest rates would rise. As a result, the people to whom I refer are locked into fixed rate mortgages and, as stated, are paying interest at 5%.

The penalties for extricating oneself from a fixed rate agreement are massive and do not make it worthwhile to do so. Compliant taxpayers, through the actions of the Government, have recapitalised and bailed out the banks. It would, therefore, be reasonable to expect a small element of quid pro quo from the banks, which should allow people to negotiate their way out of fixed rate mortgage agreements. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, must take the lead on this issue.