Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to highlight, as Minister for Finance, I am precluded from intervening in commercial and operational decisions in any particular bank, even one in which the State has a shareholding. Decisions in this regard, are the sole responsibility of the board and management of the banks, which must be run on an independent and commercial basis. This independence is protected by a Relationship Framework which is a legally binding document that cannot be changed unilaterally. This framework, which is publicly available, was insisted upon by the European Commission to protect competition in the Irish market. 

Notwithstanding the above, officials in my Department have been in contact with the bank referred to in the question and it has provided the below response:

“Discussions with the Department of Housing, through the BPFI, are ongoing with Banks to agree and finalise a Priorities Agreement that will put an agreement in place between Local Authorises and Banks to support customers using the Grant.”