Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Dún Laoghaire has some of the highest house prices in the country and, by inference, some of the biggest mortgages. Some 300,000 people are on a standard variable rate mortgage. Standard variable rates in Ireland are close to double the eurozone average. They cost roughly an extra €1,500 per year for every €100,000 borrowed. In Dún Laoghaire, I estimate the cost to be an extra €7,500 per year, approximately, given the cost of properties there.

A young female constituent contacted me today about tonight's motion. She feels Irish families have benefited least from the current low-interest-rate environment in Europe. She said she has watched in absolute frustration as her mortgage rate has steadily risen while rates across Europe have generally fallen. This has cost her hundreds of euro per month. She feels this is the number one issue affecting her household budget, yet it receives little or no attention from the Government.

I am speaking this evening to support so many people who are in this very difficult position. Constituents with mortgage arrears have approached me. They are hard-working families who pay their property tax and universal social charge, and they will pay their water charges. I understand that the banks are independent commercial entities and that the Minister for Finance has no statutory role in this matter, but the fact of the matter is that the people who are coming to me in dire straits with their mortgages are the very people who helped bail out the banks. These families deserve a fair chance. We cannot allow banks to make up for their losses on tracker mortgages by loading costs onto those with standard variable rate mortgages.

Last night the Minister of State said we must sustain a competitive economy that can pay its own way, serve society and survive and thrive in a reformed eurozone. I agree. Ongoing competition in the sector is crucial. I am glad that, through the hard work of this Government, the Irish market is entering a new competitive phase. However, we need to do more. We need to continue to encourage and support new lenders in the market. We need lenders to support and work with their mortgage holders, just as we worked with lenders in their times of difficulty. The Taoiseach said today that the Economic Management Council will be meeting the banks to discuss standard variable rate mortgages. I urge the Minister of State to make it clear to the banks that as they stabilise and get lower interest rates from Europe, they must pass them on to financially strapped mortgage holders across the country.

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