Ba mhaith liom mo chomhbhrón féin a chur in iúl do theaghlach Private Séan Rooney, a chaill a shaol go tragóideach sa Liobáin, agus dá chomhghleacaithe uilig sna Fórsaí Cosanta, Óglaigh na hÉireann.
Tá an ECB leis an ráta úis a ardú arís. Beidh an ráta tar éis dul ó 0% nuair a bhí an samhradh ann go dtí 2.5%. Mar atá a fhios ag an Tánaiste, tá teaghlaigh ag streachailt ó thaobh costais mhaireachtála agus beidh tionchar ag an ardú seo ar dhaoine a bhfuil morgáiste rianúcháin acu agus ar theaghlaigh a bhfuil a gcuid morgáistí díolta do na creach-chistí.
The European Central Bank is expected raise interest rates by another half a percentage point today, which will bring the rate to 2.5%. Somebody on a mortgage of €200,000 will see their repayments increase by more than €3,000 per year. This will have an immediate impact on the 194,000 households who have tracker mortgages. The fate of those on variable rates or whose fixed rates are due to expire lies with the banks and whether they decide in the coming months to pass this interest rate on. We in Sinn Féin have repeatedly made our position on this clear but I will repeat it - the banks should absorb these interest rates in the interest of their customers. They are profitable, have an increased market share and have paid out dividends to their shareholders already this year. Not only that, they are uniquely positioned to profit on the back of rising interest rates, although they should not. They should do the right thing. I ask that the Tánaiste, on behalf of the Government, echo that call.
In October I asked the Tánaiste and his Government to examine options to introduce a targeted, tailored and time-bound mortgage interest relief for struggling mortgage borrowers who are facing, and will continue to face, sharp increases in costs due to interest rate hikes. Will he clarify whether the Government has undertaken any of this work? As he knows, there is another cohort of borrowers who are now at the sharp edge of interest rate hikes. Over the past number of years, tens of thousands of borrowers have had their mortgages sold off by the banks to vulture funds and for years Government Minister after Government Minister has told the Dáil, these same borrowers and the public that vulture funds offered the same protection and safeguards to mortgage holders as the banks. At the time of Permanent TSB selling its split mortgage loans to a vulture fund, the Tánaiste told the Dáil, and assured homeowners, that they would be no worse off.
I never bought that line and now more than ever the truth is laid bare. Vulture funds are aggressively hiking rates higher and faster than the banks. One borrower, who is a mother of three, wrote to us and told us how her interest rate from Pepper has increased from 3.7% to 6.4% Her monthly repayments have been hiked by more than €300 per month, which is over €3,500 per year more that she must pay, in interest alone, and that is before the ECB puts the interest rate up again today. The borrower has rightly said this would not be the case if she remained with Permanent TSB. Another borrower wrote to us. He is also a Pepper customer. His mortgage loan was sold by Permanent TSB. His interest rate has been hiked from 4.5% to 6.5%. In his own words, "This is the sentence we have been served by these vultures… how are we supposed to sustain this… factor in cost of living rises and our two kids, we are very worried about the future". Again, the ECB interest rate hike will put that individual's interest on his mortgage at 7% and in the case of some others it will be more than 7%. There are thousands more such cases. There are 100,000 people who have had their mortgages sold off to vultures. This puts to bed any notions that vulture funds treat borrowers in the same way as banks do.
Does the Tánaiste accept these borrowers who had their loans sold to vulture funds are now in a worse position with the interest rate hikes? Will the Government commit to examining options for a targeted, tailored and time-bound mortgage interest relief? What actions will the Tánaiste's Government take given more and more families are likely to face repayment difficulties in the months ahead?