Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Is the Leader willing to ask the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, to come to the House for a debate on negative interest rates? The European Central Bank has pushed the idea of negative rates. This is going to affect a number of businesses. Banks are charging different rates and implementing them at different levels. Some banks are implementing negative interest rates on deposits of more than €3 million. AIB is implementing them on deposits of more than €2.5 million. The German bank, N26, is charging 0.5% on deposits in excess of €50,000. This also affects credit unions, pension funds and client accounts held by solicitors and auctioneers which are in excess of deposits held at the various banks.

Last week the UK central bank said that it is not going to implement negative interest rates for a long time yet. While the UK will not implement negative interest rates, the EU will, and has already, because the banks are charging these rates.

I ask the Minister to come to the House because this will have an effect on small deposit holders as well. It will affect people who want to buy houses as their money is being held in client accounts by the legal profession and auctioneers. It will affect people saving and buying houses and will have a knock-on effect.It is a far cry from the days when Charlie McCreevy brought in the deposit saving scheme. One would just wonder. The European Central Bank wants to do this so that the economy can push on. It wants people to use their money rather than leaving it in banks. A considerable amount of money is in banks in this country also. I would like the Minister to come to the House for a debate on the issue.