Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I support the essence of what Deputy Wall is trying to achieve in this amendment. I agree entirely with what he and previous speakers have said about it. The thing that concerns me most, however, is that there has been complete silence from the Government about home owners who find themselves in this situation. The Government has not said publicly that it will speak to the banks. Under the terms of the credit institutions guarantee scheme, the Government clearly has every right to negotiate with the banks and, indeed, require them to adopt a certain position, at least for the two-year period of the guarantee scheme. The Government should clarify where it stands on this matter because after Christmas many banks will foreclose on a significant number of mortgage holders. The implication for the market is quite traumatic in terms of a significant collapse of housing prices. It will have an even more traumatic effect for families with young children who find themselves in difficult circumstances when one or both partners may lose their jobs.

A person cannot transfer from their own home to rented accommodation because local authority rules and regulations do not permit it. One must first become homeless, so one stays in a bed and breakfast establishment or moves into grossly overcrowded accommodation with a relative perhaps, in some cases for several weeks before accommodation issues can be sorted out, including rent supplement and access to the housing list. It can be a traumatic experience. The Government should let people know what its intention is in this regard. What is the Government's position on this? Has it at least raised the matter with the credit institutions and, if not, does it intend to do so? Does the Government accept that it has substantial powers under the terms of the credit institutions guarantee scheme? How will it deal with the impending crisis that is coming down the line? Nobody is asking for mortgages to be written off, or that people can get away without paying for arrangements they have made with their financial institutions. In many cases, however, banks gave out 100% or 120% mortgages——

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