Dr. Martha O'Hagan-Luff:

I thank the Deputy for his question on legal impediment. I am not a legal expert so I cannot comment on that in any informed manner. I understand that the judges are in a very difficult position. They are trying to protect families and look after the most vulnerable. I understand that some of the repossessions that have occurred are of vacant or abandoned properties. Those would seem to be far less difficult cases. It is always a balancing act between showing compassion to the vulnerable in society and in creating a space where our mortgage system is seen as dysfunctional and would handicap future borrowers and the supply of new credit. I do not in any way suggest that those decisions are easy to make; they are not easy. There are hard choices between the hard luck cases on the one hand - where we would try to protect the vulnerable - and the other extreme where a decision could create the issue of moral hazard. If individuals think that contracts will not be enforced, it may reduce the discipline to repay in the future. It is a very delicate balancing act between those two forces.