A €2.8m mortgage owed to the Bank of Ireland by its deputy chairman, Patrick Kennedy, has been costing him as little as €17,000 a year.

An examination by the Irish Independent of the accounts for the Bank of Ireland Mortgage Bank for the years 2013 to 2016 shows that Mr Kennedy, best known for his former role as CEO of Paddy Power, owed a total of €2,823,000 throughout the period, with no reduction in the principal recorded. Notes to the bank's financial statements for each of these years show how Mr Kennedy's mortgage principal remained constant through the payment of varying amounts of interest.

The BoI Mortgage Bank's latest annual report shows that in 2016 Mr Kennedy made payments totalling €17,000 - the equivalent of €1,416 a month. In 2015, his payments were slightly higher at €18,000 - the equivalent of €1,500 a month, while in 2014, they came to a total of €22,000 or the equivalent of €1,833 a month.

While the terms of Mr Kennedy's mortgage remain unclear, the notes to the bank's financial statements state that: "All loans to directors are made in the ordinary course of business on substantially the same terms, including interest rates and collateral, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with other persons and do not involve more than the normal risk of collectability or present other unfavourable features."

Asked for comment on Mr Kennedy's mortgage with the Bank of Ireland, a spokesman for the bank said: "We are unable to comment on individual accounts."

But while the payments made by Mr Kennedy between January 2014 and the end of December 2016 would appear to be quite low, it should be noted that the overall amount owed by him on his mortgage was greatly reduced in 2013. An examination of the accounts for that year show Mr Kennedy made payments totalling €1,135,000, to bring his mortgage down from €3,958,000 to the €2,823,000 owed at the end of 2016.

The bank's annual report for 2013 shows that Mr Kennedy made payments of €253,000 in 2012, reducing the amount owed on his mortgage from €4,211,000 to €3,958,000.

Irish Independent