Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 77: To ask the Minister for Finance the current status of the reports completed by McCann Fitzgerald and Ernst and Young into certain corporate governance matters at the former Irish Nationwide Building Society; if the reports have been referred to the Garda and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement; and the action being taken on foot of the content of the reports. [2845/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware a number of reports have been produced by Ernst and Young and McCann FitzGerald at the request of the INBS Board. Copies of all of these reports have been provided to the Central Bank under the terms of a protocol for limited disclosure agreed between the parties to preserve legal privilege over the material. A report was also been provided to the Garda in this regard. However, IBRC have been advised, given the on-going nature of the investigations by the Authorities as well as internal considerations within the bank, that the reports cannot legally be published at this time. Publication of the reports may be considered when the Central Bank proceedings are concluded, when any Garda investigation has been finalised (or any proceedings arising from such investigation concluded) and any civil proceedings contemplated by IBRC either concluded or otherwise disposed of.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 78: To ask the Minister for Finance if he has raised with Permanent TSB the fact that the standard variable interest rate it charges on mortgages is significantly in excess of the rate charged by other covered institutions; his views that the rate being charged is contributing to the bank's mortgage arrears problem; his plans to address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2846/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I have not raised this matter with Permanent TSB. The lending institutions in Ireland, including those in which the State has a significant shareholding, are independent commercial entities. Ultimately the pricing of financial products, including standard variable mortgage interest rates, is a commercial decision for the management team and board of each lending institution, having due regard to their customers and the impact on profitability, particularly where the cost of funding to each lending institution, including deposit pricing, is under pressure. Neither the Central Bank nor I have responsibility for any variation in the variable mortgage interest rates charged by the two institutions. However the Central Bank has advised me that, within its existing powers, it will continue to engage with specific lenders which appear to have standard variable rates set disproportionate to their cost of funds.

The Deputy will be aware of the report of the Inter-Departmental Group on Mortgage Arrears which was published last October. The report sets out a number of recommendations to address the situation of those in mortgage arrears. The report stated that the issue of mortgage difficulty can only be addressed in an efficient way on a case by case basis. Arising from the report, a number of developments are underway that will be of assistance to mortgage holders experiencing significant difficulty.