Thousands of hard pressed mortgage holders in Mayo have been hit with yet another blow following the news that AIB is to hike up its mortgage interest rate by another 0.5 per cent. Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary has said the decision is further evidence that the banks and the Government have completely abandoned fraught mortgage holders.
“As a result of this decision, the average mortgage holder in Mayo on the AIB variable interest rate will pay an extra €50 a month on their mortgage,” Deputy Calleary explained. “This is a significant increase in basic monthly bills at a time when families across Co Mayo are already seriously struggling to make ends meet.
“I am appalled at the Government’s complete failure to take any action to address the fundamental unfairness in how variable rate customers are treated by the banks. Customers on variable rates are paying hundreds more a month on their mortgages compared to tracker rate customers.
“Take for example two different mortgage customers in Mayo with an outstanding mortgage of €200,000 and 20 years remaining. One customer is on a tracker rate of 1.75 per cent and the other is on a variable rate of four per cent. The customer on the tracker rate pays €224 less per month than the variable rate customer. That equates to €2,685 less a year and €53,700 less over the lifetime of the mortgage. This is a disgrace.
“Is the Government willing to stand back and allow variable rate customers continue to bear the burden for losses incurred elsewhere in the banks? The State owns AIB. Why can’t the Finance Minister step in and prevent such a terribly unfair hike on variable rate customers?” asked Dep Calleary.
“I am calling on Fine Gael and Labour to set out their strategy for addressing this incredibly unfair situation, which affects thousands of mortgage holders in Mayo and across this region. Their failure to stand up for struggling mortgage holders is a disgrace,” he concluded.
