The Irish Brokers Association has reiterated its call for a loosening of mortgage loan restrictions, as the Central Bank published research on the way the rules are affecting the mortgage market since they were first introduced in early 2015.

An office investment, with a wealth-management company in occupation, is selling for €600,000.

Michael McGrath, Fianna Fáil finance spokesman, has turned up the heat on the debate about the best ways to lower the still elevated levels of mortgage arrears, saying one approach — the so-called mortgage-to-rent scheme — is not working as it should.

New Central Bank figures showing falls in the average costs of mortgage rates have done little to silence calls for more aggressive cuts in home loan rates to eurozone levels.

A new entrant is eyeing potential “rich pickings” in the Irish mortgage market because home lenders here have failed to cut their standard variable rates, one of the country’s leading mortgage experts has predicted.

Two of the country’s largest mortgage broker groups opened up a new battle saying Irish lenders were short-changing borrowers on variable and fixed-rate home loans.

Consumers will be on the hook for the collapse of Quinn Insurance for close to another decade-and-a-half, despite already paying out more than €236m for its failure.

Tracker mortgage holders will benefit to the tune of €150m from the latest ECB interest rate cut as their repayments fall from next week but those on variable mortgages look set to lose out once again.

The Government was accused last night of reversing a commitment to scrap the pension levy, with the Budget 2014 announcement that it will actually increase next year.

The main banks are unlikely to meet previously stated mortgage lending predictions for this year, one industry representative has warned, despite new approval figures suggesting signs of market growth.

Mortgage interest rates payable by consumers remained largely unchanged in May, but are still lower than the eurozone average, according to the Central Bank.

Consumers are paying less interest on their mortgages than other Europeans and are also earning more on their deposits.

NEARLY 100,000 mortgages are in distress, with the total of arrears now exceeding €1 billion, Central Bank figures have shown.

THE head of the country’s largest pensions provider has warned of a “crisis in confidence” in the sector and of a real possibility of earners being dissuaded from saving for the future.

HOMEOWNERS trapped in negative equity could be stuck there for the next 14 years.

SMOKERS are paying thousands of euro more each year for life cover, a study has found.

STRESS tests are set to show Ireland will need to pump another €18 billion into its banks, it emerged last night.

HOMEOWNERS are to be hit again by rising mortgage costs as AIB raises its fixed-rate offering.

THE Irish Brokers’ Association has welcomed the decision by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) to start issuing Government bonds specifically aimed at Irish-managed pension funds, but has said that the failure to remove other restrictions for the investment of funds continues to hamper economic growth.

BANKS and building societies in Ireland are agreeing to cut loan and mortgage repayments by up to 90% for customers in genuine financial difficulty.

QUINN Insurance policyholders have been told not to panic after administrators were appointed to Ireland’s second largest insurance company by the Financial Regulator.

CONCERNED Quinn Insurance policyholders have been advised – by one industry watchdog – to shop around, after the company went into administration yesterday.

UP to 30,000 homeowners have been forced to switch to interest-only payments on their mortgages because of financial difficulties.

ALMOST one out of every 25 mortgage holders have fallen more than 90 days behind in monthly repayments, with many people facing serious risk of losing their family home.

THERE was a near60% drop in the number of mortgages granted in the Irish market last year, with just under 46,000 home loans issued against a figure of more than 110,300 in 2008.

OVER three out of every 100 mortgage holders have fallen more than 90 days behind in monthly repayments, despite interest rates being at record low levels.

LANDLORDS are threatening legal action over the introduction of a €200 tax on rental or holiday homes which the Government plans to impose as early as next month.

WHILE Taoiseach Brian Cowen was finally uttering the dreaded R-word, Health Minister Mary Harney attempted to put a positive spin on things yesterday, insisting: “Brand Ireland is not broken.”

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) South pledged financial support yesterday to four grieving Polish families whose sons were killed in an horrific crash last weekend.