It is regrettable that the Tánaiste has used the pandemic to score cheap political points. The Tánaiste knows more than most that Sinn Féin actually proposed a travel ban to the Executive and that the DUP, UUP and the Alliance Party voted that down. This is regrettable given the sacrifices and the suffering that so many people are going through at this point in time, not to mention the loss of life that we have seen increase in the last number of days.

The issue I wish to raise with the Tánaiste today is that yesterday, the Central Bank found that the average interest rate on mortgages here is almost 2.8%. This is the highest in the EU and over twice the European average. First-time mortgage buyers are now paying €2,000 on average more in interest each year than the European mortgage holder. They pay €60,000 more back to the bank over the lifetime of the loan. That is the scale of the rip-off. I will ask the Tánaiste three questions. First, what policy actions will the Government take to respond to this outrage?

Second, the withdrawal of Ulster Bank from the market risks raising these interest rates even further, as the deputy governor of the Central Bank confirmed to me in correspondence last month. What steps is the Government taking with regard to Ulster Bank? Third, on 2 December the European regulator reactivated guidelines-----

The Deputy is way over time.

-----for Covid payment breaks. The Government has not even asked the banks to bring forward these payment breaks. Can the Tánaiste explain to hard-pressed customers why the Government will not ask the banks to instigate these payment breaks?

A Theachta, ní mór dúinn a bheith féaráilte do gach duine. Mar sin, cloí leis an srian ama más é do thoil é.

I am surprised at how quickly the Deputy becomes sanctimonious. He is forever using Covid to score political points. He did exactly that in his contribution only half an hour ago and made no mention of the sad deaths of at least 50 people yesterday. Sinn Féin beats the band when it comes to using Covid to score political points, but it will not do the two things it should do to help. The first is to convince the Northern Ireland Executive to introduce the same rules as ours in respect of international travel. If its efforts in that regard fail, fair enough, but Sinn Féin should continue to try. There is no point demanding an all-Ireland strategy if the party does not do the one thing it could do to make it happen. Second, Sinn Féin must fully co-operate with the inquiry into Bobby Storey's funeral. The First Minister has said that the latter undermined confidence in public health in Northern Ireland and, indeed, the deputy First Minister, Ms O'Neill, has said the same. We have yet to hear from Deputy Doherty, who attended that event, whether he has been interviewed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI, or how that investigation is going.

Regarding the issues the Deputy raised about the banks, I will let the Minister for Finance reply to him on them.

The Tánaiste is the Minister with responsibility.

I am not. The Minister for Finance has responsibility.

The Tánaiste has responsibility.

Almost four minutes have been taken up with the first question. This is not acceptable. I am moving on. There is a minute for each Deputy. If questions can be posed and answered, that would be helpful.