Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I am fully aware that the interest hikes are yet to be felt by all mortgage holders. Hopefully the bank will continue to absorb these hikes. Time will tell, but it is likely that some of that will change. For those on trackers, there has been an immediate impact. Those with an outstanding balance of €200,000 will see their repayments increase next year by more than €2,000. That is a big jump for anybody who is already under pressure. The Central Bank has noted that 54% of outstanding mortgage balance is in variable mortgages and says we will likely see an immediate increase in mortgage interest costs when rates rise.

There is capacity. The Minister gave a figure but there are other figures, depending on the rate at which mortgage interest relief is introduced and at whom it is targeted. In one year, for example, it cost just over €50 million. There is scope and capacity for a targeted, tailored and time-bound form of mortgage interest relief. Does the Minister not recognise that households that have seen their repayments increase by over €2,000 in six months are looking to the Government to help them deal with this shock with a tailored measure that targets mortgage interest relief?

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