Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with Deputies English and McGinley.

We are living in unprecedented times and in a new economic era. Also, we are living through social change brought about by economic turmoil. The seriousness of this situation does not need to be assessed.

We, as politicians, have a serious role to play in terms of assisting people to work through this difficult time. The world economy has caused us huge problems. However, we have a duty to do things that are good for our economy. Many of us lived through tough times in the 1980s, when interest rates were as high as 21% and 22% and inflation stood at approximately 18%. People were vulnerable and many had their lands taken from them when the ACC sent in assessors to farms.

The current situation, in terms of people's homes, is similar. People are in enormous debt. People in their 30s have debts of up to €300,000-€400,000 and many of them are losing their jobs. What can be done? We, as politicians, have a duty to stand up to the banks. Some weeks ago, we bailed out the banks. Anyone in their right mind will acknowledge that one's home is one's castle. People must be allowed to retain their homes, whatever it takes. Many friends of mine were in financial difficulties in the 1980s. At that time, a moratorium was placed on mortgage interest and capital sums were set aside for a while, thus allowing people to retain their land. The banks and the Government have a responsibility to help young people now in difficulty through no fault of their own. We must force the banks to allow people to keep their homes.

Another section of society forgotten about in this debate on the economy are elderly people in the community. Local authorities in my constituency do not have the resources to meet applications under the housing aid for the elderly scheme or the home improvement scheme, much lauded here week in and week out. Skilled tradesmen are joining the dole queues in every town and village throughout the country. We must challenge the social partners to ensure that skilled people who cannot get work are employed to assist older people by way of installation of windows, doors and so on in their homes. These people want to work; they do not want to be unemployed. There has been much talk about cutbacks. The reality is that we must get people working and keep the cycle going. The opportunity exists to ensure that skilled people such as plumbers, plasterers and so on obtain employment, perhaps through the introduction of a scheme that would allow them to assist older people with work in their homes. I ask that the Government consider this proposal.

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