Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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571. To ask the Minister for Finance the steps he is taking to ensure that savings deposit interest rates increase to at least the eurozone average; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19085/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Deposit interest rates are a means for banks to attract or maintain a stable source of funding. The determination of the rate of interest to offer to attract depositors is a commercial decision, which is the sole responsibility of the board and management of each bank.

Neither the Central Bank of Ireland nor I have a role in setting the interest rates offered by banks on monies held on deposit. Although the State is a shareholder in some of the banks operating in the jurisdiction, those entities must also be run on a commercial and independent basis, and their independence in this regard is protected by the relationship framework agreements.

In terms of the interest rates currently available on deposits, the European Central Bank (ECB) released February 2025 Euro Area Bank Interest Rate Statistics on 2 April 2025. The Central Bank of Ireland Retail interest rates release was released on 9 April 2025, and it can be accessed on their website.

I am informed by the Central Bank of Ireland:

• The weighted average interest rate on new household deposits with agreed maturity increased to 2.33 per cent, a 5 basis point increase from January 2025 and a 26 basis point decrease annually.
• Over the last year, the weighted average interest rate on new household term deposits rose from 16th to 8th highest in the Euro Area.
• The equivalent rate in the euro area decreased to 2.21 per cent, a 96 basis points decrease from February 2024. In February 2025, the rate in Ireland exceeded the rate in the Euro Area by 12 basis points, while last year the rate in the Euro Area exceeded its Irish equivalent by 58 basis points.
• In February 2025, overnight deposit rates for Irish households and firms both stood at 0.1%. During the same period, euro area rates stood at 0.3% for households and 0.7% for firms.

Between June 2024 and February 2025, the ECB’s monetary policy rate decreased by 1.25%. Over the same period, the weighted average interest rate on household term deposits fell by 0.4% in Ireland, compared to 0.8% in the euro area. For firms, the weighted average rate on term deposits fell by 1.1% in Ireland versus 1% in the euro area as a whole. The slower pass-through of changes in monetary policy to household term deposit rates was also observed during the monetary policy hiking cycle.

Overnight deposit rates were virtually unchanged for Irish firms and households since the beginning of the easing cycle (June 2024). In the euro area, pass-through was also limited, albeit stronger than in Ireland: interest rates on household overnight deposits fell by 0.1% between June 2024 and February 2025, and 0.2% for firms. These patterns are also similar to those observed during the hiking cycle.