Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Mortgage holders could be facing extra mortgage charges of €1,000 per year as interest rates rise. This is the latest part of the cost of living crisis. We hear from the CSO that inflation has hit 7%, making this the sharpest cost of living crisis and squeeze for ordinary people since the 1980s. Irish banks are already charging the second highest rates for mortgages in the eurozone, with average borrowers paying €2,000 more per year than their counterparts in other European countries. These are the same banks that were bailed out by the public and are now again hugely profitable. This is profiteering, pure and simple and it should be stopped.

The Government is pushing ahead with privatisation of AIB when the banking sector should be brought into public ownership and run on a democratic, not-for-profit basis as a public utility. Will the Government, at the very least, act now to empower the Central Bank to cap the interest rates that can be charged for mortgage holders?

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