Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

To be clear, I am not specifically requesting that the Minister introduce any change to the tax code in this regard. I have never requested that. That is not what my question seeks to do. Thankfully, the main lenders in the market have held off raising their variable mortgage interest rates to date, but I think there is a certain inevitability that those rates will rise over the coming period. Figures released by the Central Bank yesterday show that the average rate for new mortgages fell by six basis points compared with the figures in August, and that is a good thing. We are moving now towards more of a European norm in respect of variable mortgage interest rates. That said, the reality is that we will probably move back to where we were over the past few years when banks inevitably increase mortgage rates over the coming period. There are 250,000 people on trackers. After the most recent ECB hike, a couple with about €200,000 left on their mortgage could end up paying the equivalent of three weeks' wages more in mortgage repayments later this year. Loading those kinds of repayments on already stretched households could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I ask the Minister to keep a watching brief on this with the Central Bank.

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