The Minister for Health Mary Harney today called on Irish banks to pass yesterday’s ECB interest rates on to mortgage customers.
The European Central Bank, US Federal Reserve and Bank of England yesterday cut their key interest rates by half a percentage point.
Ms Harney faced calls in the Dáil for the Government to direct Irish banks to pass on the reduction
"Liquidity is important for banks and so too is customers," she said during the Order of Business. "There is good competition in the banking sector for depositors and mortgage holders and I would expect that the reduction is passed on to the customers.
"Two banks have already indicated that and I am hopeful that the others would do so."
Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said it was "unthinkable" that banks would not pass on the reduction to their customers.
"The Government should direct the banks to do so," he said. "The relationship between the Government and the banking sector here is entirely different than what it has been and the reduction in interest rates should passed on."
Bank of Ireland became the third Bank of Ireland is the third bank to confirm it will pass on the full interest rate cut to all variable-rate customers. AIB and Bank of Scotland (Ireland) which includes its retail banking arm Halifax, announced they would be changing their rates yesterday.