The Central Bank is reviewing the interest rate options available in the mortage market as part of the EU/IMF bail-out deal.
According to a European Commission report yesterday, it is preparing an internal report that will consider whether more mortgages issued by Irish banks in future should be at fixed rates.
The Commission says the study will examine "potentially fixing all interest rates for certain products such as mortgages".
The Central Bank team is due to present a discussion document by the end of this year, outlining the policy options and assessing their benefits and disadvantages.
Figures from the bank published yesterday show that more than 250,000 people are currently on variable rate mortgages - around a third of the mortgage market. These mortgages can prove to be very expensive as banks are not obliged to pass on interest rate cuts from the ECB.
The Commission document says the Central Bank report will also look at the possibility of placing restrictions on "high-risk" property lending.
