Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

My party leader has also dealt with the need for a moratorium. It is important that the Government gives it urgent consideration. At this point, people are caught in the middle with foreclosure actions already in the courts. They do not have time on their side because decisions will be taken once the actions reach the courts.

The Minister spoke about the letter on the hall table and people afraid to open it. That is the case. Such people go to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service and by that very action they face up to the situation. They go to that organisation in order to deal with the fact they have a problem. It must be recognised there are people who do not have the financial coping skills to deal with the situation. That is the reason MABS is so important and it is why they go there.

The Minister mentioned MABS. Referring to the first half of 2008, the organisation said at that stage that it had seen a 57% increase in its clients. The figure is now 80%. It also saw a corresponding increase in people being refused mortgage interest supplement. We might say that some people have their heads in the sand because they are afraid to open their letters but the Government also has its head in the sand concerning the seriousness of this matter. It thinks all will be fine if these people talk to MABS. That is not sufficient. They might negotiate with the financial institutions but even when they are able to reach a deal, it might well depend on whether they can get the mortgage interest supplement.

The Minister must see that a holistic approach is necessary. Often when the banks help people it is only on the basis that they will get the supplementary welfare allowance to help them make some progress in paying the mortgage. There will be people for whom it is not a case of either-or. It must be a degree of both. The Minister must look at the adequacy of this approach and she must require her Department, as a matter of urgency, to examine who is being refused and why that is the case. Dealing on a one-off basis with individual appeals is one thing but there is clearly a problem in the overall system. People with high mortgages are being refused and will lose their homes as a result.

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