asked the Minister for Finance if he expects that interest and mortgage rates will be reduced in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers . - Mortgage Rates .
127.
: As the Deputy is aware, the development of interest rates is kept under continuous review by the Central Bank which is responsible for monetary policy generally. Regarding the current situation I would refer the Deputy to my statement of last Tuesday, 22 March 1983, to this House on the recent EMS realignment and in particular to the intention of the Central Bank to monitor closely the money markets in order to exploit any opportunity that emerges to bring down interest rates and thereby avoid an increase in mortgage rates.