A leading mortgage advocate has said the banks can do what they want, and despite protestations from the Taoiseach he expects no change from the "morally unjustifiable" situation of banks charging mortgage interest rates up to 2% above the European average.

"The banks can do what they want. Who else can march into government buildings in September 2008 and get an unlimited guarantee?" Ross Maguire, Senior Cousnel and New Beginning co-founder, told Breakfast this morning. Mr Maguire said the failure of banks to heed government warnings and the July 1 deadline is further evidence that the banks are more powerful than the Government.

"The financial world has this enormous power of sovereigns. That is just a fact of life that the financial world today is more powerful than the sovereigns themselves," he added.

Yesterday saw the passing of the July 1 government deadline for action on high interest rates passed yesterday, with only AIB and Permanent TSB having moved to help those on standard variable interest rates. Taosieach Enda Kenny said the banks' position was "morally unjustifiable".

In the Dáil the Taoiseach rejected claims from Fianna Fáil that the coalition's plans to make banks cut variable rates have been "a flop".

"It's a remarkable thing how banks who are operating under license in the state, two of them fully owned by the state, meet with the Minister for Finance and say , 'well we're not doing anything and we're not doing what you say we should do', and the Taoiseach of the land says it's not morally justifiable," Maguire said.

The Government appear to have pushed the crisis down the road until October's Budget, with Mr Kenny saying yesterday "We have a Budget in October. There are opportunities for the minister to deal with the banks."

Actions available to Michael Noonan may be limited however, Maguire says.

"He can give power to the central bank to determine rates but there are downsides to that.

A key problem could be a lack of competition, one of the root factors enabling the banks' behaviour, and a problem that may be exasperated by any direct intervention.

"One of the difficulties in the Irish market is the lack of competition in the market and if the central banks starts to interfere with the ability of banks to set rates that could affect the appetite of other lenders to come into the market, so that has to be taken into account."

"If I was a betting man I'd say that ultimately nothing will happen in October."

Listen to the full interview with Ross Maguire below