Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The need for this motion to pass and for mortgage interest relief to be granted is clear because evictions, repossessions and mortgage arrears are all on the rise in Kerry, as they are across the State. County Kerry has a very high level of relative deprivation. Employment is often seasonal, part-time and low paid. Homeowners in the county are particularly susceptible to interest rate increases and rising household costs more generally. The recent revelation - this is not a joke - that exactly one affordable home was built in the county last year is a damning indictment of how the county is being served by the Government and its housing policy. Housing lists are long - up to 14 years - affordable homes are few and far between and the cost-of-living crisis is forcing those with mortgages on their homes into even greater precariousness.

The main reason for this cost-of-living crisis is, of course, rising energy prices. Whether paying for energy directly or for goods that are subject to higher energy costs, workers and families are being squeezed. In this context, I want to outline some facts from the recent Household Energy Price Index study commissioned by the Austrian and Hungarian energy regulators. The study found that Ireland was the most expensive of 33 countries surveyed. That includes the EU, UK and Ukraine. Financial supports per capitafor households to help cope with the price rises are lower here than in other European countries. After this month's credit is applied, no further supports are in the offing. The survey also found that residential gas prices in Ireland were the eight most expensive of 28 counties studied. The cost of electricity has doubled for Irish households in the past two years. The Household Energy Price Index calculates the supports per capitain Ireland at €1,071 since September of 2021. Ireland was well above the EU average unit price of 28.3 cent per kilowatt hour at a staggering 49.9 cent per kilowatt hour, or nearly double. Most disgracefully, a sharp drop in wholesale costs has not resulted in any drop in consumer prices. Recent Central Statistics Office data shows wholesale prices went down by more than 50% in the year to last month.

Households are at breaking point and need whatever assistance they can get. Mortgage interest relief is only one part of the picture but it is an important measure nonetheless.

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