Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am concerned that reference is being made to a headline figure of 10,000 people who do not engage as a means of setting a narrative. I do not agree with what has been said about those who can afford to pay their mortgages. I pay my mortgage, but I understand that some people cannot afford to do so. I think they should be taken off the table. We are not talking about people who will not engage. I know of numerous people who have tried to engage with banks and vulture funds. They are put from Dublin to Belfast and all over the place. They will not engage. I have worked out household accounts, etc., with people to see what they can afford. It comes down to what is spent on a child's birthday present or communion. People are trying to pull back here or there. The banks and the vulture funds come back to them and say that what they are trying to do is not good enough. The banks and the vulture funds will not engage in such instances. Those people are trying. People with a mortgage repayment of €500 are offering to pay €300, but the banks are saying "No, we need the whole €500."