More urgent than any legislative follow-the-leader is the threat to Irish lenders posed by the expected arrival into the Irish market of a couple of British institutions.

With the buoyant Irish market, European economic and monetary union and comparative lethargy in the British mortgage market, it is only a matter of time before either British or European lenders give in to the temptation of easy pickings here.

With profit margins substantial, especially on variable rate mortgages, the British lenders could offer loans at up to half a percentage point lower than their Irish rivals and make a better return than in Britain. After all, lenders borrow money on the markets at rates of 2.5 per cent currently but charge mortgage hunters 5.25 per cent. Plenty of room for manoeuvre there.