Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 38:

In page 145, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following:“Report on mortgage interest relief

62. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on maintaining the current Mortgage Interest Rate Relief until such time as mortgage interest rates are equivalent to the European average.”.

This is an issue I have discussed with the Minister previously. In last year's Finance Bill he decided to taper mortgage interest relief. The relief benefits almost 50% of persons with a mortgage, amounting to over 400,000 households. It is being reduced from 75% to 50%, something my party and I oppose. Many of the people concerned are in negative equity and still struggling. Many of them are in mortgage arrears, but many others are just struggling to get by because of the high cost of living. Therefore, we ask the Minister to consider accepting the amendment on Report Stage. The point of it is to register our opposition to the reduction in mortgage interest relief, one of the few reliefs in place to support those with a mortgage, particularly at a time when mortgage holders in this state are paying twice the European average in the rates being demanded from them.

See this speech in context