The average rate of interest for new mortgages for the month of February was 2.92%. The average in the eurozone was 3.33%, nearly three times the interest rates a year and a half ago.

Darragh Cassidy of bonkers.ie said: “Since last July, the ECB has hiked rates by 3.5 percentage points. However, the main banks have only hiked their fixed rates by around 1.5 to 2 percentage points on average. And variable rates have hardly moved at all.

“However this generosity has largely come at the expense of savers. Savings rates in Ireland are still miserable. The best rate is just 1.5 percent with Permanent TSB. And Bank of Ireland only pays a maximum of 0.75 percent. However, deposit rates over 3 percent are now widely available in Europe.

“In essence, savers are now heavily subsidising mortgage holders. Whether that’s right will differ vastly depending on whether you talk to a mortgage holder or someone with big savings.”