The European Central Bank
needs to intervene to enable Irish banks to reduce their standard variable
rates for mortgages. That’s the call being made by the Fine Gael MEP Brian
Hayes. He says Irish mortgage holders are paying around two percent (2%) more
in their standard variable rates than their European counterparts. Earlier this
week both AIB and KBC Bank announced a reduction of their SVRs by a quarter of
a percent 0.25%. Here’s Brian Hayes. 

Dur: 00:38 

The Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes
is calling for a change to the current rules that require prospective
homeowners to have a deposit of up to 20% of the value of the house. He was responding to new figures out this week from Daft.ie on the
increasing prices of rental properties and the shortage of housing in Dublin in
particular. Mr Hayes says he’s raised this issue with the European Central Bank’s
chief Mario Draghi. 

Dur: 00:33 

The Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy
says the recent TTIP leaks confirm fears that the EU Commission is ready to ‘sell-out’
on a range of issues when it comes to brokering a trade agreement between the
EU and the US. Mr Carthy was referring to leaked documents recently obtained by
the environmental organisation Greenpeace. The papers contained information on
the secretive trade talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership. However, The EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom has stated
that ‘no EU trade agreement’ will ever
lower its level of protection of consumers, the environment or food safety.
Here’s Matt Carthy. 

Dur: 00:43