PEARSE Doherty has renewed his calls for banks to cease charging interest during repayment breaks on mortgages and loans during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Donegal TD has been an outspoken voice against the practice in recent months – and the Sinn Féin finance spokesperson has called on the government to intervene.
“Over the past week, I’ve been back onto the Central Bankand the senior bankers, demanding that they stop profiteering from the pandemic,” Deputy Doherty said.
“As we know, many people are unable to pay their mortgages as they’ve seen their jobs lost temporarily. What we need is a real break from the banks.
“The type of break that has been provided means that interest will still be accrued, it will be rolled up and then more interest applied on top of it. This means that banks will be making thousands of euro of profit on the back of people’s hardship and misery.”
Banks and lending institutions have accepted over 50,000 requests for mortgage breaks from customers who have been impacted by the Covid-19 shutdown.
It has been estimated that customers will have to fork out an extra €4,000 due to the accrual of interest on their loans.
Deputy Doherty said: “This cannot be allowed. The Government needs to step in.
“In jurisdictions throughout Europe – in some of those areas – they have already legislated for the fact that banks cannot charge interest during these breaks.
“That is the type of break that we need for ordinary families and workers, and Sinn Féin will continue to pursue that.”
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