Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Last Monday, 37 cases were brought by banks and building societies for the repossession of homes. If there were 37 cases before the courts, it is fair to assume that several hundred homes have been repossessed without having to go to court. Meanwhile, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government published a report yesterday showing that the number of people on council housing waiting lists has increased by 30% to 60,000. This increase occurred in the three years up until March 2008, which is the time before the major job losses occurred. These were the three best years for house building in Ireland, when one would have expected a significant return of houses under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

This is probably the biggest social ticking time bomb in this country. If 2008 was the year that saw 100,000 people lose their jobs, then 2009 is shaping up to be the year when people's homes are repossessed. There is already evidence of cases being brought by building societies to put people out of their homes. It does not have to be like that. There are ways in which arrangements can be made so that for the duration of the recession, people can at least stay in their own homes. The biggest fear people have — bigger than the fear of losing their jobs — is of losing their homes. It is crazy.

Banks and building societies are repossessing homes they cannot sell in this market. If a bank manages to sell a house, it will not recoup the amount of money the house was bought for. When a house is repossessed, the family concerned ends up on a council housing list. It will have to be allocated a house by a local authority at some stage, or paid rent allowance to rent a home somewhere else.

Will the Government come up with an approach to ensure that people can continue to live in their own homes while they are getting through the two, three or four difficult years that are ahead of us? Those whose homes are being repossessed now will be back on their feet again within a couple of years. All that is required is an arrangement whereby one's mortgage can be suspended and rent allowance can be applied to the home one is living in. Perhaps the rules of the mortgage interest subsidy scheme, which have not been changed for some time, can be revisited. It may be possible to apply shared equity through local authorities. Arrangements need to be put in place, through the State or lending agencies, to assure people that they can stay living in their own homes. It looks likely that a slew of people will be taken to court in 2009 to have their homes repossessed. We need to ensure that people are not put out of their homes, as that would require the State to pay them to live somewhere else, in effect.

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