Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan Pauline Tully has called on government parties to support Sinn Féin's proposals to give much-needed mortgage relief for homeowners. She has been speaking ahead of today's Sinn Fein motion calling on the Minister for Finance Michael McGrath to introduce timely, targeted and temporary mortgage interest relief to support borrowers struggling with rising interest rates. Speaking to Northern Sound, Deputy Tully said mortgage holders are seeing a large rise in their interest costs as a result of interest rate hikes by the ECB.
According to Deputy Tully, last week's hike was the fifth since July, which means that borrowers will be paying thousands of euros more in interest this year and others are likely to see their interest rates increase in the coming period. As a result, the local representative said her party would like to work with the Central Bank to enhance the supervision of vulture funds in the interests of struggling borrowers.
Deputy Tully explained; "In the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, with sharp and significant rises in interest costs, now is the right time to introduce timely, targeted and temporary mortgage interest relief.
"The now Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath, while in opposition in 2015, described mortgage relief as ‘a very important support for families’ and that ‘the process of withdrawing it from existing homeowners at the same time as they are subject to a residential property tax highlights a government that is pursuing policies that are making home ownership increasingly unaffordable for families’.
"Sinn Féin agrees with Minister McGrath’s then assessment but considers it an apt description of the policies of the current Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Green Party government. Minister McGrath’s U-turn on this issue, as confirmed by his statements last week that he has no plans to introduce mortgage interest relief despite his previous calls in opposition, suggests Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael cannot be trusted to support homeownership or homeowners.
"What Pearse Doherty is proposing is different to the mortgage interest relief that existed in the past, which was based simply on the total interest paid on a mortgage loan. Instead, it would provide mortgage interest relief equivalent to 30 percent of increased interest costs relative to June 2022 up to but not exceeding €1,500 per annum."
Deputy Tully continued; "The measure is temporary, and the measure is targeted – it would provide relief on increased interest costs as a result of interest rate rises. We would also work with the Central Bank to enhance the supervision of vulture funds in the interests of struggling borrowers, and we would examine the taxation of the banking sector including the treatment of corporation tax loss relief. These proposals would absorb a portion of borrowers’ increased interest costs as a result of rate hikes since June."
