They currently have about €60 billion of surplus money stored with the Central Bank, earning the current 3 per cent ECB deposits rate, equating to an annualised amount of €1.8 billion.
While the average rate for households putting money into Irish term deposit products has risen from almost zero last June to 1.02 per cent as of February, it remains 0.9 of a point below the euro-zone average. Separately, the committee heard that professional services group PwC paid €54 million last year to settle a €900 million legal claim for negligent auditing over the collapse of Quinn Insurance.
Between 2011 and 2015, the exchequer advanced €1 billion of loans to the ICF to meet Quinn Insurance liabilities. The gradual repayment of this is being financed by a 2 per cent surcharge on all home and motor insurance policies in the State.