Our Housing Plan

Fianna Fáil has published a national housing roadmap which aims to address the housing crisis in our country. Our 4 step roadmap will build 150,000 new homes, support 80,000 first time buyers, create 80,000 jobs, empower 20,000 new local authority homeowners, and secure homes for our elderly.

Mortgages

There are at least 300,000 households on standard variable rate mortgages. These families have benefited least from the current low interest rate environment in Europe. For a typical €200,000 mortgage, a standard variable rate customer will pay approximately €4,000 a year more in interest than a comparable borrower in another European country

It is my firm belief that the rates being charged are not justified based on banks’ cost of funds. Banks which operate both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are also charging customers in the Republic 2% more for a standard variable rate mortgage. This is unacceptable.

The Government are simply wrong to say that they cannot intervene. They must directly engage with the banks to ensure that this rip-off is brought to an end. They must also ensure that the banks open up the market for switcher mortgages. We need a competitive mortgage market to meet the needs of customers.