Thanks for the reply Bronte,
I have no doubt at all that that the relief on mortgage interest relief (currently 75%) will eventually be abolised altogether. I fully agree with your view regarding people on the tip of throwing the keys of their investment properties back by the way. Two more bombshells waiting for them are
1. An increase in interest rates and
2. For those on interest only the change to capital and interest payments that will soon be required.
No what I'm referring to is below and in particular the second paragraph. Extract from pagfe 95 and 96 of the 4 year plan
"Given the structure of these schemes there are ongoing legacy costs as investors use their capital allowances. Those legacy costs will reduce with time as capital allowances are exhausted. The restriction of reliefs measure introduced in 2007 (and further enhanced in 2010) also curtails the ability of individuals to utilise these reliefs, thereby spreading the costs over a much longer period.
In current circumstances, it is no longer acceptable that measures abolished as far back as 2006 should continue to cost almost €400 million per annum. Accordingly, the Government is committed (in line with the Revised Programme for Government) to the phased abolition of these legacy reliefs over the period of the Plan."