Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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203. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will introduce legislation capping mortgage interest at 2% above the European Central Bank rate in order to alleviate the extreme pressures on homeowners. [45225/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Firstly, I must confirm to the Deputy that the lending institutions in Ireland -  including those in which the State has a shareholding - are independent commercial entities. I have no statutory role in relation to mortgage interest rates charged.  It is a commercial matter for each institution concerned.  It is not appropriate for me, as Minister for Finance, to comment on or become involved in the details of the accounts of mortgage holders.

The Central Bank has responsibility for the regulation and supervision of financial institutions in terms of consumer protection and prudential requirements and for ensuring ongoing compliance with applicable statutory obligations.  The Central Bank has no statutory role in the setting of interest rates by financial institutions, apart from the interest rate cap imposed on the credit union sector in accordance with the provisions of the Credit Union Act, 1997 and the requirement to be notified of penalty or surcharge interest imposed in respect of arrears.

The mortgage interest rates that financial institutions operating in Ireland charge to customers are determined as a result of a commercial decision by the institutions concerned.  This interest rate is determined taking into account a broad range of factors, including European Central Bank base rates, deposit rates, market funding costs, the competitive environment and an institution's overall funding.

As I stated in a previous Parliamentary Question, a previous Deputy Governor indicated that, within its existing powers and through the use of persuasion, the Central Bank would continue to engage with specific lenders which appear to have standard variable rates set disproportionate to their cost of funds and this is a course of action I expect the Central Bank to continually appraise.

As part of the Central Bank's work on mortgage arrears, lenders were asked to consider all avenues to help customers in arrears, including interest rate reductions.