Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Housing, Planning and Local Government, Darragh O’Brien, has welcomed news that homeowners with mortgages from their local authority and Rebuilding Ireland home loans can now apply for a three-month payment break.
The payment break is open to those who have already faced mortgage difficulties due to the Covid-19 emergency and any Rebuilding Ireland loan holder who is currently facing financial difficulties can now apply.
Deputy O’Brien said: “I am pleased to see the announcement of the payment break for homeowners with mortgages from their local authority and those with Rebuilding Ireland home loans. I worked hard to help secure this deal over the past number of weeks and raised the issue directly with the Minister in the Dáil.
“Following on from a conference call last week on the issue, it has been agreed that the breaks are now in place. This is a similar move to the agreement last month between the State’s five banks to provide three-month long payment breaks to individuals affected by Covid-19.
“A lot of people have had real concerns as to how they would repay their mortgages because of lay-offs due to the COVID-19 crisis so this will offer those individuals a small reassurance in these uncertain times. If an individual applies for a mortgage break they will not be charged interest for the period of the break, meaning that no additional costs to the original home loan balance will arise for any individual who avails of these measure,” concluded Deputy O’Brien.