Mortgage relief scheme would only help better-off tracker mortgage holders, Central Bank advised

Central Bank said plans for the scheme, as presented to it, would 'almost entirely' benefit holders of tracker mortgages who for many years had substantially lower interest bills than other householders. Picture: Leah Farrell/Rollingnews.ie

The Central Bank told the Department of Finance a scheme for mortgage interest relief would almost exclusively benefit homeowners aged over 40 who were the least likely to have challenges paying back their home loans.

In an analysis of Government plans to help mortgage holders in last year’s budget, the Central Bank said the scheme was not focused on those who were suffering most from the “shock” of rising interest rates.