Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Not only the Minister but his party leader, the Tánaiste, called for mortgage interest relief rates to be increased when he was on this side of the House but, again conveniently, he forgot all about that when he got back into power. The Minister made the point that budget time is the appropriate time to examine this, but there have been changes at other times and the Finance Bill passed in the Seanad just a few hours ago. There have been changes to hospitality tax measures in the tourism sector; there have been tax changes regarding solar panels. There has been a €1 billion housing package, including the waiving of fees for developers, yet some households are paying an additional €5,000 or €6,000 in mortgage interest costs and the Minister says he will do nothing until at least October. In fact, October's budget will set the changes for January of next year, yet people are wondering how they are going to meet their repayments.

That is the reality of what we are facing. The Minister facilitated this. As a member of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, he blocked my legislation, with Fine Gael, and facilitated the sale of many of these loans to vulture funds. These households are now paying 8%, yet the Minister says he will do nothing about it. It is not acceptable. He has a moral responsibility to do something on mortgage interest relief. Taking a portion of the costs, up to €1,500, is an appropriate measure and can be afforded.

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