I call Deputy Mattie McGrath on behalf of the Rural Independent Group.

At the outset, I would like to express, on my own behalf and on the Rural Independent Group's behalf, our abhorrence of the incident that happened in Navan a couple of days ago. It is truly shocking. I have not seen the video but, from what I have heard, it is appalling. Every right-thinking person must condemn it.

The Government has failed the Irish people by allowing the European Central Bank, ECB, to push continuously for interest rate hikes, despite the dire consequences for Irish borrowers. Today, I want to question the passive stance of the Government in allowing the ECB to push up interest rates from zero to 3.75%, the most severe monetary austerity measures since the ECB was founded 25 years ago.

The Government has remained silent on this monetary policy position, despite the fact that it is driving many Irish households to the brink of financial ruin. First, the ECB interest rate hikes represent nothing short of austerity policies, are disproportionate and, indeed, ineffective, and have done nothing to lower inflation. Second, the issue is causing severe financial pain and anxiety in every household, particularly for mortgage holders and borrowers. We hear a lot about middle Ireland, but this is where this is impacting. These interest rate hikes are devastating the Irish economy and posing a significant threat to the livelihoods of citizens.

Countless homeowners now face the risk of eviction due to the astronomical costs of mortgage repayments. The ongoing policy of trying to combat inflation through interest rate hikes is like trying to crack a chestnut with a sledgehammer. It is ridiculous. It severely impacts on all Irish borrowers, exacerbating the inflationary spiral.

The Government's failure to act or even question the ECB's persistent interest rate hikes now poses a grave threat to the Irish economy. This reckless monetary policy is driving up borrowing costs for small businesses, farmers and homeowners in Tipperary and across the country, while failing to curb effectively or have any impact on inflation.

The most vulnerable group affected by these interest rate hikes are the 712,000 plus homeowners and 76,304 buy-to-let mortgage holders, accounting for a staggering €100 billion plus in outstanding loans. Among them, tracker-mortgage customers and interest-only customers are particularly vulnerable.

With every 1% increase in ECB interest rates, borrowers in Ireland face an additional burden of approximately €52 per month for every €100,000 borrowed. This places immense strain on borrowers, especially those with large outstanding loans. For example, one of my constituents in Tipperary, who is part of the most vulnerable group of borrowers with an average balance of €225,000 and 19 years remaining, will have extra repayments, in addition to the monthly repayment of €951, driving it up by over €6,000 a year. This is simply unsustainable and Government will have to act.

On the European Central Bank, there is a common currency and we have joined that. We are members of the European Central Bank in so far as every state nominates a representative. Of course, he or she does not act as an Irish representative and must act in the collective in the context of the European Central Bank itself.

In terms of monetary policy, they have to control inflation. Inflation has to be controlled. Unfortunately, interest rate increases have always been a mechanism of monetary policy to reduce a rampant inflation rate, which people have articulated concerns about in this House for the past nine months and has necessitated unprecedented Government intervention in terms of cost-of-living packages and budgetary packages to reduce the cost of public services, to reduce taxation and to provide increased social protection payments to many people. We have done that in the context of a very significant €12 billion intervention over the past 12 months by the Government to alleviate pressures on people because interest rates create pressures on people, particular, as the Deputy has identified, on the mortgage front.

In the context of the forthcoming budget, we will do what we can again to alleviate pressures on people in respect of the broader costs that they have. In healthcare alone, for example, we have brought down the drugs payment scheme, DPS, threshold. The threshold was €124 before we came into government; it is now €80. Paediatric inpatient charges have been eliminated, examination fees waived and adult patient charges eliminated. There are free primary school book schemes for September. There will be a €100 child benefit one-off payment in June. We had the fourth energy support provided to people last month. There has been a steady consistent almost monthly intervention by Government to try and alleviate the pressures on people right across the board.

On the mortgage front, the Minister for Finance and senior officials met with providers, particularly in the non-bank sector, to discuss mortgage interest rates. The Minister raised concerns about the impact of those rate rises on borrowers and the potential this may have in terms increasing mortgage arrears.

The Minister had emphasised that it is a priority of Government to reduce mortgage arrears and he has raised it with the Central Bank as well. The Minister wrote to the Central Bank in the context of the review of the consumer protection code to underline the importance of customers with performing mortgages being supported and facilitated to switch to avail of lower mortgage interest rates. We will continue to keep this matter under review.

It is clear that the Tánaiste is trying to distance himself and the Government from the ECB and its policies because it suits him. However, it must be noted that last year, the Government rolled out the red carpet for the ECB President, Ms Christine Lagarde, during her visit to Government Buildings. This presented a prime opportunity for the Government and the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, on behalf of the people, to question this policy. The Government has not raised this issue publicly or in any other forum which is a failure to protect the interests of all borrowers, especially the domestic side of the economy. Small businesses, farmers, fishermen, tourism and the hospitality sector all are affected by this. It is a major issue.

How can any Irish Government stand idly by and allow the unelected cabal of the ECB to cause so much pain and suffering in this country? We had it already, in 2008, with the forced so-called "bailout". The cleanout and the pressure and blackguarding that the European banks and funds did to this country was supported by the Tánaiste.

The Government must act. I will not deny that these little frills help, but the elephant in the room is the interest rates and the failure of the hikes to bring down inflation. It is not happening.

The Deputy's proposals would create chaos.

We have chaos.

There would be chaos if every Government in Europe were to take on and disagree with the ECB. We need monetary policies to be set by the ECB.

Best boys in the class.

That is the way it should be. We need to get inflation down. Ireland has an unemployment rate of less than 4%. We have the lowest youth unemployment in Europe. We have dramatically increased employment in the past three years. There must be a balanced, measured and stable approach to managing the economy. Some countries outside the EU have inflation rates of up to 50% or 60%. When a country reaches that disastrous level, it is in real trouble. Getting inflation down matters and it matters to citizens. A balance must be struck in measures to curb inflation. It is working, albeit more slowly than anticipated due to the war in Ukraine, which has caused huge problems with inflation, as has the response to Covid-19 and to coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have to get inflation down because it will kill the citizen more than anything else, metaphorically speaking.