I am informed by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), that reductions in the interest rates across the full range of State Savings products were announced in December 2012. This was done at a time when rates in the deposit market generally were coming down with the objective of remaining competitive while not incurring interest costs above the levels generally prevailing in the market on Government borrowings. The NTMA will continue to monitor market interest rates but at this time does not propose to increase interest rates for particular categories of saver.