James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to contribute to this debate on the motion tabled by the Labour Party. I support the motion in principal but would like to see certain Fine Gael proposals, such as the NAMA homeowner support scheme, adopted.

As Deputy Terence Flanagan stated, the Master of the High Court warned that an avalanche of home repossession cases is anticipated in the courts in what he described as a recession of historic proportions. He stated that most borrowers were not to blame for their arrears, as we go through this recession.

The same cannot be said about the banks or, indeed, the Government, as I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, will agree. In the interest of fairness, there must be something akin to a moratorium on house repossessions or other proposals to achieve a similar outcome. As the Master of the High Court stated, in the current climate where there are almost no house sales, there is really no good reason to grant an immediate order for repossession unless there was credible evidence that a sale might be on the cards. There are no gains for anybody in rows and rows of houses being shuttered up and ghost estates developing throughout the length and breadth of this country. This is not desirable.

Not so long ago the much repeated catch-phrase in this House was "getting a foot on the property ladder". Ministers sung from hymn sheets all over the country on this issue, and the difficulties associated with such for young and not so young first-time buyers. Now we see where the problem has arisen. For those lucky enough to do so, or should I say, with the wisdom of hindsight, not so lucky in many cases, the trick is to avoid the grasping hands waiting to rip them off the ladder and crush the rungs under their feet, as is the case for many.

The Financial Regulator stated that up to June 2008 almost 14,000 mortgages were more than three months in arrears. Every day of the week there are frantic constituents ringing and calling to see me, wanting to know what they can do to save their homes from repossession. They are extremely anxious to know what relief is available to them to meet the mortgage that they could afford before they lost their jobs, or had their wages cut by the Government. This is one of the biggest problems for people already pushed to the limit. Help is hard to come by. The waiting period for mortgage relief, even if one meets the narrow criteria, is excessive. I have come across constituents who have waited up to six months to get some such relief from the State, and this is unfair and unjust.

The Department of Health and Children is unable to meet the demand and people with young families, who took on mortgages in line with different economic circumstances, are facing bureaucracy, red-tape and cruel delays before they can see hope on the horizon. Many, however, are being refused mortgage assistance by community welfare officers because the eligibility criteria are too stringent.

Currently, there are more than 14,000 households dependent on mortgage interest supplement, an increase of 244% - rather than 200% as the Minister of State said earlier - since the end of 2007. This is factual. The Minister of State can gloss over it any way he wishes, but what he stated earlier is untrue.

I am aware that the Government is currently reviewing this scheme. Were it to turn out that the aim of the review, which is not currently clear, was as is suspected, to make it more not less difficult for people to be eligible for payment, this would be a particularly cruel blow, even by Fianna Fáil-Green Party standards. None of the Greens has come into the House this evening even to listen to this debate, which shows the interest they have in the matter.

When considering the current problems with the criteria for eligibility, anything is possible. At present, claimants are not eligible for mortgage interest relief if, for example, their mortgage is considered to be too expensive. Apart from the obvious leeway in interpretation by different community welfare officers leading to a lack of uniformity around the country, this begs the question as to who encouraged the mortgage holder to take out the loan. It was the banks, with the co-operation and collusion of this Fianna Fáil-led Government - mostly those who attended the Galway tent in years gone by.

By any standard, it is ironic that the very people who caused the economic fall-out are being helped by the very people who colluded in their mistakes, and the innocent are left to carry the can. As they say, "truth is stranger than fiction." If the extraordinary cronyism and shady dealings of the Government were to be made into a movie, it would be considered unbelievable and a bestseller.

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