Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

There is no point in trotting out the promises made and what is in the programme for Government, because at this stage the programme for Government means nothing. The programme for Government states that any 0.25% rate increase would be subsumed by the banks. There has now been a decrease in rates, yet representatives of the two main banks, as well as ICS Building Society which is owned by the Bank of Ireland, yesterday met the Tánaiste, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and our Taoiseach and flatly told them that they would not pass on those cuts.