Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mortgage holders are facing interest rates of more than 7%. Some households pay thousands of euro more in interest to the banks and the vulture funds. For more than a year, Sinn Féin has been calling for the introduction of mortgage interest relief to support them. The mortgage interest tax credit the Government introduced is simply not working. Of the 700,000 mortgage holders in the State, fewer than 15,000 households have received the credit. So far, 90% of the money allocated has not been drawn down and hundreds of families have been rejected from receiving the support because their incomes are too low. I spoke to a single mother with two children whose application was rejected by Revenue because her income was too low. Her mortgage costs have risen by €5,500 in the space of a year. The Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Humphreys, promised that such families would be able to access support through the Department of Social Protection but when this single mother contacted the Department of Social Protection she was told to go to MABS. This is simply unacceptable. Earlier, I asked the Tánaiste where the 50,000 affordable houses were that he promised the electorate four years ago. He was not able to answer that. Maybe he can answer this question. Where is the scheme the two Ministers in the Government promised that nobody can find and which is supposed to help mortgage holders who do not have an income?

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