Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Rising mortgage interest rates have put homeowners at risk and under severe financial pressure. In the context of last week's announcement from the Government that there will possibly be a surplus of €10 billion this year and one of up to €16 billion next year, it is completely ridiculous that the Government is not supporting homeowners who are experiencing such stress.

Mortgage interest repayments are rising by colossal amounts. In some cases, they are increasing by thousands of euro per year. Some people are paying up to 8%, particularly those who are in the clutches of vulture funds and other agencies that bought up loans at low prices and are now pushing repayment rates through the roof on people.

Our proposal is that repayment should be on the basis of the interest rate that was charged in June of 2022 and that we would look at 30% of the additional interest being taken away in order that people could have a bit of a break, and that this would be capped at €1,500 per annum. In the past, it was open-ended. That is not what we are talking about. We are talking about something that would be controlled and that would be in place to support people through all of the difficulties they are experiencing. Rising mortgage interest rates are putting the possibility of buying homes beyond the reach of so many people. First-time buyers are finding it very difficult.

The Government recently announced grant aid to assist people in regenerating older properties. People cannot get mortgages to buy those properties in the first place. If they do get mortgages, the interest rates relating to them are through the roof. There needs to be an assessment of all of this in order to see how we can support people.

Sinn Féin has repeatedly called for the introduction of a temporary mortgage interest relief. We need to have that in place to support mortgage holders, we need to have a limit on it and we need to ensure that it is introduced as quickly as possible. It is time for the Minister to accept what he has set his face against for so long and recognise that, in the context of the large budget surplus he will ever have, there needs to be something put in place to protect and assist mortgage holders who are under major pressure. That needs to be done immediately. Now is the time to act in order to ensure that we can save people in every constituency from the huge distress they find themselves in.

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