As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) delivered another large interest rate hike on Thursday, a move which will add to pressure on borrowers in Ireland who are not on fixed-rate loans.

The ECB, which has not raised rates by two percentage points since July, said in a statement that it expects to raise rates further as it struggles to get inflation under control.

The bank said it is increasing the cost of borrowing in order to reduce "support for demand."

Basically, it is making borrowing more expensive so consumers will either do less of it or pay so much for loans that they have less money left for other things.

These moves from the ECB are going to do nothing to support the eurozone economy.

In fact, they are trying to slow the economy, with policymakers calculating that a small recession now is a price worth paying to stop runaway inflation and a much larger economic collapse later.