Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is all cold comfort to people who are mortgage prisoners. The Minister was one of the cheerleaders who cheered this on and told them all there would be no difference and that it would be no problem whatsoever and they would have the same protections. However, he failed to deal with the main issue we are addressing.

There are 7,000 mortgages holders that are now being charged over 8.5% with the vulture funds. There are 100,000 mortgage holders who saw their interest rate go up over 6% last year. To give a bit of context, if somebody has a mortgage of €300,000 and is paying 6%, he or she is paying €1,800 per month, which is over €6,000 more than somebody with a high street lender fixing at just over 3%. That is €6,000 more out of people's pockets. If someone is one of the 7,000 who is being charged 8.5%, he or she is paying €12,000 more because his or her loan was sold to a vulture fund. We know that during that time, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil sold the Irish people a fairy tale, telling them that they would be no worse off. The reality is that these mortgage prisoners are worse off, and they need a way back to normal banks. They cannot switch because some of them are in arrears or have been in arrears in the past. Has the Minister anything to say with regard to providing a pathway back for these people so that we have normal lending rates as opposed to what is now happening with rates of 8.5% and 6% and with over 100,000 mortgages in that position?

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