Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

I would like to begin by thanking all those who contributed to this debate in the past two nights. However, it is regrettable that the Government should seek to reject this motion and replace it with what is fundamentally a deeply flawed amendment. It is an amendment that buries its head in the sand and repeats once again that the banking fundamentals are sound, when all statistical information clearly demonstrates that there is a crisis in the mortgage sector and that this is an issue of real systemic importance.

The Government amendment notes that the legal repossession of homes reported by institutions covered by the guarantee scheme amounted to 20 for the first nine months of this year. However, this number has almost doubled this week and, more importantly, legal repossessions are ultimately the final order and cannot be judged to be a true measure of the number of mortgages in difficulty and coming before the courts. Everybody knows that the main banks put a halt to proceedings on repossession cases until NAMA becomes fully operational. It is also public knowledge that there are hundreds of cases pending and that hundreds of cases will commence in the new year. The letters are written and are ready for posting.

The Government's amendment also notes that the number of homeowners in arrears for 90 days with institutions covered by the State guarantee is currently between 15,000 and 16,000 and claims that the rate of increases in arrears has moderated in the early months of this year. The figure of 15,000 may be the figure in respect of the institutions covered by the State guarantee, but this does not take into account the number of sub-prime lenders and other players in the market. These borrowers need and deserve to have their plight taken into account and their numbers are potentially far greater than those potential defaulting borrowers with the State guaranteed institutions.

The Government's amendment makes note of the introduction of a statutory code of conduct on mortgage arrears. In theory, this all sounds fine. Deputy White mentioned this evening that 100% mortgages are still being issued. Has any bank or building society been censured for failing to comply with these terms? There is no explanation as to how this code in its operation is policed, nor is there an explanation of the consequences for non-compliance. In effect, it is a code of conduct that lacks any teeth.

Much mention has been also made of the renewed programme for Government which "envisages" expanding mortgage support measures. The time for envisaging has long since passed. What is required by people in fear of losing the roof over their heads is action and a fair playing pitch in the existing emergency. People are suffering and that suffering is real and present and undermines the family life of tens of thousands of households. Promises for the future are of little use at the moment. Ultimately, programmes for Government, whether old or new, are akin to something stored in the attic - occasionally encountered, seen to be useful and forgotten about shortly afterwards. Programmes for Government for this Government are just passing moments of thought.

According to the ESRI, the estimated number of mortgage loans in negative equity by the end of 2009 will be almost 120,000. The full scope of the ESRI's estimation suggest that by the end of 2009, depending on the individual house price, there could be anything between 116,000 and 188,000 mortgages in negative equity. So much for the fundamentals being sound.

In reply to a parliamentary question I asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs early this week about mortgage interest supplement applications, the figures show that for the months of August and September there were 1,123 and 1,245 claims registered, respectively. Much has been made on the Government side of the mortgage interest relief scheme. As mentioned last night, there are more than 14,000 people who have received the mortgage interest supplement this year, which is an increase of 200% since 2007. While the mortgage interest relief programme provides some relief for households, it is not a solution in itself and falls far short of what is required. What is required is outlined in our motion.

The Labour Party's motion before the House tonight is an opportunity to address that hardship in a real and measurable way. It is an opportunity to demonstrate clearly to hard-pressed mortgage payers that this House, by means of legislation, is committed to achieving equity and fairness for homeowners. At the core of the Government's resistance to accepting our motion is an issue of perception. When the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, spoke last evening, he said there is already a perception of risk in connection with the Irish banks' mortgage loan books that is higher than justified. He went on to say that it was therefore essential that nothing be done to raise further fears about the quality of mortgage loan books. Whatever one might think about Ireland at the moment, this was like a comment in a Dickens novel that the lady's demeanour might be disposed to something. The idea that the Irish banking reputation might be affected by extending a mortgage moratorium for two years is a nonsense.

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