THERE ARE CALLS for the government to put pressure on banks to write off some of the mortgage debt of Irish people after yesterday’s ECB interest rate hike.

Housing association Respond is once again reiterating it’s call for action by the government on what it calls “the mortgage arrears crisis” following yesterday’s rate increase, reports RTE. Respond says that the government can no longer focus on solving the banking crisis without addressing the problem of distressed residential mortgages.

80,000 homeowners are experiencing difficulties in making repayments, and Respond says that the higher interest rate will only make things harder for more people. The organisation is proposing that the government examines options which could see banks forgive some the debts owed.

In February the housing association Threshold proposed a “mortgage to shared equity” scheme, which would see the State buy homes at a “significant discount” from financial institutions when a houseowner is in danger of facing repossession. The State would then rent the dwelling back to the former owner, who could later re-purchase their home if they were in a position to do so.

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