Mortgage rates in Ireland remain dramatically out of line with rates charged elsewhere in Europe, Fianna Fail has claimed.

Finance spokesperson Michael McGrath said Irish mortgage holders are continuing to pay dramatically more than consumers elsewhere in Europe.

Deputy McGrath commented: "For example, the interest rate on all new mortgages, fixed and variable, stood at 3.3% in June compared to a euro area rate of 1.83%. This means that a borrower with a mortgage of €200,000 is paying €250 per month more than they would be paying in the average Euro area country. That is €250 a month, each and every month. There has yet to be a credible explanation for such a dramatic difference in the rates charges.

"To add insult to injury, Irish consumers are not only paying higher interest rates on their mortgages, they are earning less interest on their savings. Today’s figures show that interest rates on new household term deposits stood at 0.08% in June, compared to an equivalent euro area rate five times greater at 0.4%.

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"In May 2016, a Fianna Fáil Bill designed to give the Central Bank powers to tackle excessive variable mortgage rates passed second stage in the Dáil. The progress of the Bill through the legislative process has been tortuous and painfully slow. Despite not opposing the Bill at second stage, it is abundantly clear the Government does not want the Bill to become law.

"The Bill has undergone extensive pre-legislative scrutiny including an examination by independent legal counsel.This independent legal examination did not identify any serious concerns about the constitutionality of the Bill which would prevent its passage. Before the summer recess, the Minister for Finance, having consulted with the Attorney General, wrote to the Oireachtas Finance Committee referring to 'significant constitutional issues'.

"The Minister suggested that an ex-ante independent economic analysis of the Bill be conducted 'in order to guard against a successful constitutional challenge to the Bill'. This was the first time the Government suggested such a move and came fourteen months after the Bill passed second stage unanimously in the Dáil."

(CD/MH)