Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
229. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the further measures he intends to introduce in 2026 to support households facing significant increases in mortgage repayments due to interest rate hikes; if he will consider expanding or extending the existing mortgage interest relief scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10069/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are a range of regulatory measures in place in order to protect consumers who have or who are taking out a residential mortgage.
The consumer protection framework in place seeks to ensure that all regulated entities are transparent and fair in all their dealings with borrowers and that borrowers are protected from the beginning to the end of the mortgage life cycle. It provides the same protections for borrowers regardless of the regulated entity with whom they are dealing, be that a bank, retail credit firm or credit servicing firm.
In particular, credit servicing firms, which includes entities that service credit agreements, or entities which hold the legal benefits and rights of the creditor under a credit agreement, must be authorised and supervised by the Central Bank, and are therefore subject to the full suite of relevant regulatory requirements and financial services legislation, including the Consumer Protection Code and the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears.
The new Consumer Protection Code will come into effect next month. This will provide for a number of mortgage related enhancements including in relation to mortgage switching. For example, lenders will now have to provide borrowers with a personalised saving estimate alongside each alternative mortgage refinancing option and will also have to provide title deeds in a timely manner.
Finance Act 2023 introduced Mortgage Interest Tax Relief (MITR). MITR was originally made available for the 2023 year of assessment.
The relief is available to homeowners with an outstanding mortgage balance between €80,000 and €500,000 as of 31 December 2022. The relief extends to a qualifying property located in the State which is the sole or main residence of the individual’s former or separated spouse or civil partner or a dependent relative. Furthermore, the taxpayer must be compliant with Local Property Tax requirements. The relief operates by way of a credit offset against the taxpayer’s income tax liability.
In Finance Act 2024, the relief was extended to include the 2024 tax year. Subsequently, to continue to provide support to mortgage holders who have experienced increased interest rates since 2022, Finance Act 2025 provided for a further two-year extension of the relief.
The relief is available in respect of the increase in interest paid in 2023, 2024 and 2025 over interest paid in 2022. The amount qualifying for relief at the standard rate of tax (20%) is capped at €6,250 per property. This is equivalent to a maximum tax relief of €1,250 per property per annum. However, in acknowledgment of the continued unwinding of ECB interest rate increases, the relief available for the second year of the Finance Act 2025 extension was provided on a tapered basis. Therefore, a reduced level of relief, a maximum of €625, will be available for the increase in interest paid in 2026 over interest paid in 2022, which can be claimed from 2027.
