Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar has said he does not fully trust the banks not to try to make a profit during the Covid-19 crisis.
Speaking on RTÉ's Business programme, Mr Varadkar said he had met the banks in May when they said they could not waive interest on mortgages that were paused due to Covid-19 because there was a regulatory barrier.
However, Mr Varadkar said it has since been clarified that was not the case and he had checked it with the Central Bank. He said the other reason banks gave was that if they extend the term of a loan, there are costs associated with that for the banks.