Mortgage holders will be crucified by a hike in interest rates ordered by the European Central Bank.
The mortgage rate in Ireland has a margin of 1% above the ECB rate and as the chart below indicates, we pay the highest rates in the EU.
The government has allowed banks to get away with this rip-off for years. It is estimated that an average mortgage holder could be paying €70,000 extra to banks over the lifetime of their mortgage.
The new rise means that homeowners will be paying an additional €72.39 a month on a €200,000 loan with 25 years remaining.
This is totally unacceptable. The government must step in and order banks to absorb the increase by reducing their profits.
It should insist that banks stop adding a premium to the ECB rate. If banks do not comply with this order, they should face the prospect of nationalisation.
