Alarm over Permanent TSB mortgage rates

A bid to force the Government to “use all means possible” to force a reduction in Permanent TSB mortgage rates was voted down in the Dáil last night.

The Fianna Fáil motion expressed alarm that the state-owned bank’s standard variable interest rate was 5.19% — two percentage points higher than AIB.

Party finance spokesman Michael McGrath branded the Permanent TSB level “exorbitant” and warned it was “crippling” families struggling to cope with mortgage debt.