Today in our Stretched series, we look at the cost of mortgages.
Are they a rip-off compared to rates elsewhere in Europe?
Brendan Burgess of the Fair Mortgage Campaign says that, of the 600,000 people with mortgages in Ireland, "300,000 are in the lucky position of being on trackers. The other 300,000 are being absolutely robbed."
"In Ireland, the average mortgage rate is 3.4% and the banks are using the fact that some people can't pay their mortgage to charge everybody the same. There's no justification for that. People are being overcharged every single day."
Michael Dowling, Chairman of the Irish Brokers Association's Mortgage Committee, says it may not be as simple as just overcharging.
"There's a lot of fall-out from the economic crisis and we need sustainable banks. There are mitigating factors in terms of why we're paying higher rates than our neighbours in Europe. If you want lower interest rates, part of the cost of that is that we would have higher repossession levels, and I don't want to see that."
Ailbhe Beirne is a recent house purchaser and has just taken out her first mortgage, which at the moment she is happy with. She says there is very little difference from the rent she has previously paid over the years, and that her saving habits have also improved.
Architect Mel Reynolds feels people currently looking at the housing market are "caught between a rock and a hard place."
"The banks are overcharging and there's currently no affordable housing scheme. There's no definition of affordable housing and no legislation that will underpin one if they decide to bring one in."
