Today’s confirmation that the European Central Bank is to raise interest rates by a further quarter of a percent to 3.25% will hit many hardworking Irish families who are seeking to buy their own homes hardest.

The ECB increase will impact heavily on all mortgage-holders, especially those who have only recently borrowed large sums.

Indeed, this rise is the fifth such increase in less than 12 months. Rather than opt to go for a couple of large increases over the last year, the ECB have opted to introduce incremental rises on a bimonthly basis in order to avoid a major shock to consumer confidence. However, the cumulative effect has been the same.

Given the recent recovery in European markets over the last year, it is difficult to understand why the ECB is continuing with this series of increases. Would it not have been better to allow this growth to sustain itself rather than inflict further interest rate rises throughout the Eurozone thus threatening heretofore fragile economies?

In Ireland banks and financial institutions continue to make record profits yet the financial screw is being tightened even further on hard working families.

Homeowners will feel the effects most. This is all the more reason for the Government to directly to intervene directly in the housing market to control prices, rather than await the much talked about, but as yet invisible, soft landing.