It's falling down around arrears

Finance Minister's warning after interest rates rise

- KEITH FALKINER

IRISH homeowners could fall behind on payments after the European Central Bank raised interest rates again, the Finance Minister warned yesterday.

The ECB said it is pushing up its main lending cost by 0.25 percentage points meaning those with an average €300,000 mortgage will be paying an extra €39 a month.

It is the seventh interest rate rise since last July with Irish mortgage holders now paying up to €300 more a month than they were a year ago.

Minister Michael McGrath said the news was a "concern".

He called on mortgage lenders to use existing codes of conduct to work with borrowers to avoid home repossessions.