You should put pressure on your TD to get action

Hi ck

I don't really understand very much about politics, so I don't know. I am astonished that it has taken so long for this campaign to become an overnight success. I have briefed TDs of every party but only Michael McGrath and Brian Hayes MEP have got stuck in.

I suspect that an article like this by Eoghan Harris might wake up some backbenchers.

Mortgage rate row could lose Fine Gael vital seats
Let me make two predictions. First, the SVM issue is much more dangerous to Fine Gael than the water protests. Most of the water protesters would not have voted for Fine Gael anyway.
But most of the suffering SVM group are coping-class Fine Gael voters. And they are coldly angry. That could cost Fine Gael vital marginal seats.
 
I would send a letter to Leo Varadkar but as he has failed to reply to two previous emails from a constituent I rather think it would be pointless-On the upside there's an election coming up and doubt very much if Leo or FG will be getting my vote again,their loss but surely its a matter of simple courtesy to reply to constituents questions.
 
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ONLY reply I received from all the TDs I contacted just came in: Go Mary!

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Mary Mitchell OConnor <Mary.MitchellOConnor@oireachtas.ie>

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Dear XXXXXX,

Thank you for contacting me on this very important and stressful matter for many people. Last Wednesday night I raised some of your well made points during Private Members Business. I urged the Minister to meet with the banks and insist Irish mortgage holders become the beneficiary of the low interest rates from Europe.

Please find my speech in full below. I will continue to do my best to ensure this matter is given due attention from the Minister for Finance, An Taoiseach and other members of the Economic Management Council.

Please do keep in touch with me on this matter and thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

Yours sincerely,
Mary



Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) - April 1st, 2015


  • Dún Laoghaire has some of the highest house prices in the country and, by inference, some of the biggest mortgages. Some 300,000 people are on a standard variable rate mortgage. Standard variable rates in Ireland are close to double the eurozone average. They cost roughly an extra €1,500 per year for every €100,000 borrowed. In Dún Laoghaire, I estimate the cost to be an extra €7,500 per year, approximately, given the cost of properties there.

    A female constituent contacted me today about tonight's motion. She feels Irish families have benefitted least from the current low-interest-rate environment in Europe. She said she has watched in absolute frustration as her mortgage rate has steadily risen while rates across Europe have generally fallen. This has cost her hundreds of euro per month. She feels this is the number one issue affecting her household budget, yet it receives little or no attention from the Government.

    I am speaking this evening to support so many people who are in this very difficult position. Constituents with mortgage arrears have approached me. They are hard-working families who pay their property tax and universal social charge, and they will pay their water charges. I understand that the banks are independent commercial entities and that the Minister for Finance has no statutory role in this matter, but the fact of the matter is that the people who are coming to me in dire straits with their mortgages are the very people who helped bail out the banks. These families deserve a fair chance. We cannot allow banks to make up for their losses on tracker mortgages by loading costs onto those with standard variable rate mortgages.

    Last night the Minister of State said we must sustain a competitive economy that can pay its own way, serve society and survive and thrive in a reformed eurozone. I agree. Ongoing competition in the sector is crucial. I am glad that, through the hard work of this Government, the Irish market is entering a new competitive phase. However, we need to do more. We need to continue to encourage and support new lenders in the market. We need lenders to support and work with their mortgage holders, just as we worked with lenders in their times of difficulty.

    The Taoiseach said today that the Economic Management Council will be meeting the banks to discuss standard variable rate mortgages. I urge the Minister of State to make it clear to the banks that as they stabilise and get lower interest rates from Europe, they must pass them on to financially strapped mortgage holders across the country.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor TD
 
I wrote to 3 TD's and 1 minister in the Cork Area.

All 3 TD's came back with the standard government rhetoric while I have had no response from the Minister.

IMO the more emails that are sent to TD's the more worried that they will become about this campaign is gaining momentum. It is only a year to an election and both government parties aren't really endearing themselves to the electorate.
 
Have just emailed my local tds linking to the most recent irish independent article which explains everything in such brilliant simple terms
 
I don’t’ think the banks will give us one cent if they can help it. It is up to the government and the Central Bank to deal with this. As an earlier poster said a whole lot of the 300,000 demographic caught up in this are people who are most likely to vote and are quite possibly traditional Fine Gael voter’s - and those 300,000 voters are very cross!
 
IMO I think there are 2 points that people should raise if they are contacting their TD's:

1. They illustrate how much a potential reduction in the variable interest rate is worth to them against potential reduction in tax rates in any future budget - realising that any future carrot will pale in comparison to what they can achieve here.

2. The majority of people who have SVR's do not have huge amounts of spare money and that the money that these people will save from a reduction in interest rate will only go back into the local economies where these people live and have the potential to boost local employment.
 
TryingHard said:
ONLY reply I received from all the TDs I contacted just came in: Go Mary!
Click to expand...
I got the exact same response from Mary, but its more than I got from Richard or Eamon. I ignored Sean since he is busy with running the zoo !

However, since the election candidates are confirmed in the area for the main parties, I will also be raising the issue with them.
 
My Fine Gael TD advises that despite government owning 99% share in AIB they are unable to intervene " due to European law" ........
 
hughes said:
My Fine Gael TD advises that despite government owning 99% share in AIB they are unable to intervene " due to European law" ........
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Well I've contacted my Fine Gael mep Brian Hayes for dublin who is on some european economic committee using Brendan's standard letter (suitably amended). It's a european issue alright, the rest of Europe must be laughing at how much crap the irish mortgage holder is willing to take....
 
And on the law point , you should direct them to judge hogans judgement in Millar. That's the law.
 
For creating awareness and keeping up to date on campaign please look at facebook under SVR Mortgages Ireland
 
  • My Finegael TD said would like to help but said it wasn't political issue ?????? Labour TD said issue being raised at party meeting this week and gave undertaking to ring me ....fair play. Enda Kenny on record saying banks should pass cuts on ........... Michael Noonan to report back on his chat with Prof Honan to Michael McGrath. Reserved judgement on Millar case ,in ordinary course, is now due.
 
    1. Expect more showboating now from Government TDs creating the optics that they are doing something on the SVR issue but hoping at the same time it will go away.....it won't. Now a !major election issue as well.
 
Could somebody explain what this campaign expects politicians to do (beyond populist posturing and pretending they can offer everybody a free lunch)?

Genuine question.
 
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EU policy saw introduction of low interest rates with objective of increasing liquidity in the real economies of member countries ( IE. to boost economy by increasing cash flow for households and business).

To answer your question : the campaign is demanding that these cuts be passed on .......our political reps are being lobbied now for immediate response.
 
hughes said:
EU policy saw introduction of low interest rates with objective of increasing liquidity in the real economies of member countries ( IE. to boost economy by increasing cash flow for households and business).

To answer your question : the campaign is demanding that these cuts be passed on .......our political reps are being lobbied now for immediate response.
Click to expand...


Again, what specific action do you want politicians to take beyond posturing?

The ECB repo rate has little or nothing to do with a bank's cost of funds. Put simply, there are no savings from ECB rate cuts to pass on.

The fundamental problem is that the balance sheets of our lenders are weighed down by massive amounts of unresolved non-performing loans. Are you calling for the introduction of legislative measures to encourage the resolution of these loans in an expeditious manner?

I'm not trying to have a go - I'm simply asking what you are looking for by way of specific actions.
 
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Reply from Kieran O Donnell I am still waiting to hear from Jan O Sullivan and Micheal Noonan

Mary, Many thanks for your email. The banks will shortly be appearing before the Oireachtas Finance Committee and I will be raising this specific issue with them. Regards, Kieran O'Donnell TDConstituency Advice Centre> On 13 Apr
 
hughes said:
EU policy saw introduction of low interest rates with objective of increasing liquidity in the real economies of member countries ( IE. to boost economy by increasing cash flow for households and business).

To answer your question : the campaign is demanding that these cuts be passed on .......our political reps are being lobbied now for immediate response.
Click to expand...

I don't think what you've posted is true. Looks to me like Europe are telling PTSB to keep the high rates on SVR's to get PTSB back up and running properly.
 
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