Bank of Ireland has been asked to extend to this jurisdiction a special "Islamic mortgage" package, which it already provides for the Muslim population in the UK.

Ali Salem, secretary-general of the Irish Council of Imams, said that he would discuss the matter with Bank of Ireland representatives at a question-and-answer session they have requested with him. The meeting is due to take place tomorrow at Dublin's Stillorgan Park Hotel.

He said that 400 families who were associated with the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh, Dublin, wished to avail of an Islamic mortgage package.

Under the teachings of their religion, Muslims may not exact or pay interest, he said. It was in response to this that banks abroad, including Bank of Ireland, had prepared special packages to enable Muslims to buy homes or go into business.

Under an Islamic mortgage scheme a Muslim would pay a deposit and effectively go into partnership with the bank on ownership of the house. The rest of the amount owed - including the interest accrued, which is considered part of the total cost of the house - would be paid off in rental-type instalments over a period of 20 to 30 years.

No such scheme is available to Muslims in Ireland, which is why many of them rent rather than buy their homes.

In the UK, Muslim business people can enter into similar partnership arrangements with banks to avoid interest repayments.

A spokeswoman for Bank of Ireland said that there was no short-term plan to introduce such schemes here, but this was constantly under review.

Approximately two million Muslims are resident in the UK. According to last year's census, 32,500 Muslims are living in Ireland.