Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle.

I also wish Barry the very best in his tasks and duties.

As the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment knows, workers and families continue to struggle with an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis and households remain under huge pressure, with massive energy bills, grocery bills and fuel prices increasing once again. At the centre of all this are sky-high housing costs. After 12 years of Fine Gael in government, housing has gone from bad to worse, from crisis to emergency to social disaster. So many people find themselves locked out of having an affordable home. On the Government's watch house prices are through the roof and rip-off rents are at record levels.

There has been no help from the Government for hard-pressed mortgage holders hit by a barrage of interest rate hikes. Last Thursday, the ECB announced its tenth interest rate hike since July of last year. These hikes add thousands of euro to annual to annual mortgage repayments. Many homeowners now pay between €3,000 and €6,000 more per year. These are huge sums and a serious shock for homeowners trying to cope with soaring prices across the board. Last week, I spoke to one stressed-out father of two who told me his mortgage repayments have increased from €800 to €1,200 per month. This individual is from Cork, as it happens. I could feel the pressure in his voice when he told me his family have started to cut back on essentials to try to keep up with the massive hikes.

The situation for tens of thousands of homeowners who had their mortgages sold to vulture funds is arguably an even bigger nightmare. Many of these households have seen their interest rates rise to a whopping 10%. Of course, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil supported the sale of these mortgages and promised affected homeowners at the time that they would be no worse off but the truth is they were thrown to the wolves. As homeowners are crucified by these massive interest rate hikes, the banks enjoy bumper profits.

Families make cutbacks to keep up and the retail banks have clocked up eye-watering profits of €5 billion this year. What has the Government done to alleviate the suffering of fleeced homeowners? Nothing, zilch, zip. Its members have played the part of spectators. They have watched on as more and more families are put under incredible pressure. It is farcical for Fine Gael to claim to back homeownership. Under this Government, it has become harder and harder to by your own home or meet mortgage repayments. It is not backing homeownership for a Government to sit on its hands while homeowners are hit with hike after interest rate hike; that is the plain truth. Tá cabhair ag teastáil ag teaghlaigh lena morgáistí anois. Tá géarghá le gníomhartha chun an chabhair sin a thabhairt dóibh. Tá sé in am tacú le moladh Shinn Féin faoiseamh morgáiste a thabhairt d'úinéirí tí atá ag streachailt. The time for action is now.

Tonight, Sinn Féin is bringing a motion before the Dáil calling for the introduction of a targeted, time-limited mortgage interest relief scheme for hard-pressed homeowners. It is a sensible proposal. It is reasonable and proportionate and it can make a difference. My question to the Minister is simple; will the Government back the motion this evening and will it implement this proposal in next month's budget?

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