Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the increase in interest rates since last July is having a direct impact on mortgage holders and businesses. We have seen the cost of borrowing for governments, including Ireland's, also increase over that period.

As the Deputy knows, mortgage interest relief has been phased out. It no longer exists for mortgage holders. The debate we had in the past was about extending mortgage interest relief at a time when it was being phased out. It was also at a time when the mortgage rates being charged in Ireland were far higher, for many people, than they are today. This is not a prediction of what will happen in the future, but new mortgages have gone from, for a long time, being the second most expensive in the eurozone to now being well below the eurozone average and, indeed, being the third lowest.

The Deputy identified a particular group of customers who are at the coalface because the rates being charged before the tightening of monetary policy were in the order of 4% to 4.5%. The 3% we have seen since has been added on top. They are paying what on the face of it is a very high interest rate. I am not denying for a moment that puts many people under pressure. I hear from them too. They email me and set out their personal financial circumstances.

The issue of the application of the consumer protection code and the code of conduct on mortgage arrears is directly a matter for the Central Bank as the regulator. I have engaged directly with the Central Bank on this issue. It is actively working on it. The committee heard directly from its representatives in the past two to three weeks about the work they are doing in that regard.

I am satisfied that they are doing the work they need to do to make sure that people are looked after. The code is very clear that people need to be treated sympathetically. The lenders need to be proactive in working through the individual circumstances and they need to work with people to come up with individual solutions. That needs to be a priority. When you put forward one particular fiscal measure, in this case, mortgage interest relief, it has to be seen alongside all of the other measures that you come forward with. There is a motion in the Dáil this week on expenditure items and welfare, and there have been proposals to extend redress schemes to reopen payments to people in nursing homes and so on.

We need the Deputy’s fiscal plan. What is his overall plan for the management of the finances for this year? I, as Minister, have to account properly, come here and be questioned by the Deputy and others on every decision that week and also be accountable to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and others and be clear and transparent in all of the decisions that we make. As the Deputy knows, the Government is considering its response to, in particular, the measures that are due to end at the end of February. We have decisions that will have to be provided for in terms of fiscal capacity. That is what needs to be done. We have to do that in a responsible way, recognising that there are risks for the economy as well. We have a surplus and a national reserve but we have a level of corporation tax receipts that we cannot rely on. What if this year, next year or the years beyond, that €5 billion, €8 billion or €10 billion - my Department estimate - of those receipts are potentially windfall in nature and do not repeat? We might find ourselves in big trouble. I cannot make a decision on any individual measure without considering all the proposals to assist people, ensuring that we protect the public purse and taxpayers' interests and we manage the finances well. I have to see it in the broader context. The Deputy can come forward every week with a different spending or tax proposal. I do not have that luxury. I have to make decisions based on all of the asks and demands while, at the same time, having overall responsibility for managing the public finances.