Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Government parties have in their revised programme indicated that they want to enhance protections for mortgage holders who have a genuine problem. Nobody in the House is at variance on the need to maximise protection in this regard. We need to do so in a way that meets the objectives of what the House is seeking which, at the same time, does not use a mechanism that can have an adverse impact on the funding of the banking institutions.

The Deputy has made certain points about the NAMA legislation. It is not about giving a free hand to anybody. It is about restructuring and having a viable financial system that will be able to continue to provide mortgages to those who seek them, as we seek to revitalise the housing sector and to make sure the funding arrangements for the banks are such that people who get into difficulty are dealt with appropriately, sympathetically and proportionately in view of their circumstances. The question of the best way of achieving that, therefore, can be further discussed in the context of the NAMA legislation and continuing economic debate in the House.

However, in the context of discussions I have in the House or outside the House with other social partners, the purpose of the Government's commitment in the programme for Government is seeking to achieve precisely that. How do we protect those in genuine difficulty temporarily who would have the capacity to reply and who need a period of time to reorganise their commitments? We have set out in some detail how that may be done. That is the Government's intention. We are setting out that objective and further discussion on it can take place in the House.

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