Irish Examiner View: Why can’t we use EU banks?

While in opposition Michael McGrath, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, paid particular attention to the disparity between Irish mortgage rates and those enjoyed by most Europeans. He, like everyone else, could not understand why Irish banks charged their customers much more than their EU counterparts. He, like everyone else, was disturbed by the banks' rapacity.

Ahead of talks with the banks this week to deal with profiteering claims linked to Covid-19 mortgage breaks, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment Leo Varadkar has said that he  “doesn’t fully trust what they (the banks) say until it has been demonstrated otherwise... they talk you down with regulatory gobbledygook".