Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Government has been up much earlier than Deputy McDonald on this issue. If she turns her attention to the programme for Government she will find that we are committed to introducing of a range of measures to address the problems of people who are in mortgage distress. The Government is concerned about the imminent decision from the ECB to increase interest rates today. We will have to await that announcement. We are acutely aware of the difficulties for many families and households in meeting their mortgage repayments. We are very much mindful of the fact that something in the order of 44,000 households are in mortgage arrears and that an increase in interest rates will put an additional burden on families and households.

That is why we have committed to examining a number of proposals to deal with the difficulties facing mortgage holders and families. They include the possibility of increasing mortgage interest relief, introducing a moratorium for householders facing repossession, fast-tracking personal bankruptcy reform for people in such circumstances, and cutting costs in the institutions that provide mortgages to see to what extent that can absorb the impact of interest rate increases. I assure the Deputy that this is being actively addressed by the Government. This is a Government that is very much on the side of the mortgage holder and of families and households who find themselves under increased pressure as a result of increasing interest rates.

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