Government considers means-tested support for mortgage holders

Government enactment for hard-pressed owe holders acceptable to beryllium announced successful the Budget could beryllium means-tested, Minister of State Niall Collins has said.

Speaking connected RTÉ's Week successful Politics programme connected Sunday, Mr Collins indicated that a constricted enactment was nether consideration.

He said specified a strategy would dwell of “targeted interventions to assistance owe holders” who person faced hikes pursuing involvement complaint increases by the European Central Bank.

“There is merit successful progressing it ... it is simply a akin benignant of strategy wherever radical tin beryllium means-tested and radical tin avail of that targeted [support] for a constricted play of clip until specified clip arsenic we find owe involvement rates relieving radical again.”

The Government is considering utilizing the fund to present a constricted signifier of owe relief, apt to beryllium administered done the payment strategy and modelled connected the owe involvement supplement, a outgo that was phased retired during the austerity era.

Mr Collins told the programme that taxation breaks for landlords and renters would beryllium connected the array for adjacent month’s Budget, and defended the government’s Housing for All programme, arguing that ramping up the proviso of societal and affordable lodging and cost-rental program would assistance alleviate grounds homelessness figures.

Sinn Féin’s spokesperson connected Foreign Affairs and Defence said the connection was emblematic of the Government’s response, saying it was “piecemeal and ever excessively little, excessively late”. Sinn Féin has projected a broader measure, but determination are concerns that a much cosmopolitan strategy would funnel enactment to those who don’t request it and could favour homeowners with budgetary resources implicit others.

Ministers are discussing a program akin to 1 that existed until 2017 and provided short-term enactment for thousands of eligible radical who were incapable to conscionable owe involvement repayments.

While much than 12,000 borrowers benefited from the strategy successful the past twelvemonth earlier it was closed to caller entrants, astatine an yearly outgo of €43 million, it would beryllium a acold outcry from the benignant of cosmopolitan alleviation being sought by the Opposition for each owe holders.