Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

MABS has negotiated reasonable mortgage repayment rates for many people. Some families can take the hit of the recent mortgage interest rate hikes, but many more families cannot. However, it is certain that a family that has gone through MABS certainly cannot take the hit. From what I can see, all of the pillar banks have written to their borrowers stating that while they and MABS have agreed a rate of, for example, €250 per month, there is now a mortgage interest rise.

This totally flies in the face of what MABS has spent months negotiating. The pillar banks need to be aware that if there was an agreed maximum rate that someone was capable of paying, that that is the maximum rate, plus the European Central Bank, ECB, rate, plus 1%, plus 2%, or plus 3%. They cannot do this as it is only spiralling debt further for these people. It also needs to be a consideration of this committee that the banks are not following the agreed and knocked-out deal with a client but are using that deal as a baseline on which to hike up every ECB rate, which is wrong. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach.