Social Democrats T.D. for Dublin Bay North, Deputy Cian O\u2019Callaghan, has called on the Minister for Finance to work with the Central Bank of Ireland and the commercial banks to extend the mortgage break from three months to six.<\/p>\n
Deputy Cian O\u2019Callaghan said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe three-month mortgage break offered to those affected by COVID-19 must be extended to six months to give people the space they need. We know that 45,000 mortgage breaks have already been agreed, many of these people have lost their jobs or other incomes. People are worried about upcoming mortgage repayments. Action must be taken now to reassure them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately it is going to take us longer to recover from the COVID-19 crisis than initially expected \u2013 our policies must change to reflect that fact. We have to be responsive to the changing situation. Other EU countries like Portugal have already offered a six-month break on mortgages. We need to follow suit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some families won\u2019t need this added measure \u2013 for those that do, it will free up some financial resources which can be spent on essentials like food. It may also help to reduce some of the stress and anxiety that often comes with financial pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to take a fair and pragmatic approach to this crisis. People\u2019s credit rating shouldn\u2019t be allowed to suffer because they can\u2019t make an upcoming payment\u2013 extending the mortgage break should stop this from happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government and Central Bank must take action now to prevent a repeat of the hurt and harm that was caused during the financial crisis. As a first step, the mortgage break should be extended from three months to six.\u201d<\/p>\n
[ENDS]<\/p>\n
23rd April 2020<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Social Democrats T.D. for Dublin Bay North, Deputy Cian O\u2019Callaghan, has called on the Minister for Finance to work with the Central Bank of Ireland and the commercial banks to extend the mortgage break from three months to six. Deputy Cian O\u2019Callaghan said: \u201cThe three-month mortgage break offered to those affected by COVID-19 must be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[278,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cian-ocallaghan","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n