Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 March 2023
204. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Finance if he is in receipt of correspondence or documentation detailing the impact of interest rate rises on mortgage holders on their monthly repayments; and if so, if he will publish those documents. [14488/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the European Central Bank has increased official interest rates over recent months as it attempts to combat inflation. While the setting of retail interest rates is a commercial matter for an individual lender, this increase in official interest rates has had an impact on tracker and some other variable mortgage rates and consequently on the level of mortgage repayments by some borrowers.
As Minister I have received correspondence from mortgage borrowers, both directly and indirectly from other public representatives, which outline the impact that the increase in mortgage interest rates is having on them. I do not intend to publish such correspondence.
The Deputy will also be aware that, more generally, the Central Bank regularly publishes papers on the general financial and economic environment which, inter alia, assesses the impact of the inflation and interest rate environment on households and other sectors, including most recently in its latest Financial Stability Review which was published in November 2022. This document is available on the Central Bank's website. The Central Bank also publishes data on mortgage interest rates charged by banks and other regulated entities.
