“The Minister for Finance must take the necessary steps to ensure that those who are paying fixed rate mortgages can change to variable rate mortgages with minimum or no penalty”.

This was stated by Independent MEP Marian Harkin when she insisted that hard pressed tax paying mortgage holders deserved to take advantage of prevailing low interest rates .

Marian Harkin said:- “The only glimmer of hope for hard pressed mortgage holders at the moment is the lower interest rates on offer.  Under normal circumstances bank customers make a decision on fixed or variable rates and then accept that they will lose or gain on that decision.  However these are not normal circumstances.  Property prices have collapsed, incomes have been significantly reduced and the actions of the banks have left Irish taxpayers exposed to massive debts.

“These same banks now charge huge penalties on those customers who want to change from fixed to variable mortgage rates.   This is unfair, unjust and I believe the Minster should act.  He would be helping ordinary householders, the very people who, over the next number of years, will struggle to repay their debts while the banks are in the comfortable position that their debts are covered by Irish taxpayers”, Marian Harkin concluded.