Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a final point on an issue about which Senator Coghlan is always concerned. I welcome the ECB rate reduction of 0.25%, giving a base rate of 0.25%, announced by Mario Draghi the week before last. This is good news for those on tracker mortgages, but the State effectively either owns or has a stake in three main retail banks here, AIB, Permanent TSB and Bank of Ireland. Has the Government made any contact with those banks with a view to insisting they pass on that rate reduction to their variable rate customers, some of whom are paying over variable rates of over 5%? What is the Government's position and what advice is it giving to the banks we have supported?