Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

In general, I would say that the banks act in an arbitrary fashion in this regard. The so-called split mortgage solution, of hanging people with debt into their old age and hanging it on their children after them if they inherit the home, is not a solution but tortuous cruelty over a lifetime.

All the groups here have done massive advocacy and have been correct to criticise the banks and the State. However, I have not heard any of them say it is crazy to allow the suffering go on. All the groups must operate according to the banks' agenda. Why, however, do they not call on the bankers and bondholders who created this crisis, who were bailed out by the Irish taxpayer, for a general solution and write-down for owner-occupiers to today's value and to calculate the monthly mortgages accordingly? Is that not the obvious solution to end this pain and horror? It would also help in terms of the damage that is being done to the economy in terms of people not having an ability to spend money in shops and services.