Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this motion. I am glad we are having this debate. We all share a desire to do something about residential mortgage debt. In the coming months, the Minister for Finance will bring forward some new initiatives and one hopes he will take on board some of the contributions to this debate. We do not have all the answers on this side of the House because others have various ideas for solutions. We should put together a range of measures that will help people in various circumstances. Some people's property is in negative equity while others want to sell their homes and move to another area for employment. Many people cannot afford to pay their mortgages. We may quote figures indicating that 40,000 or 60,000 or 80,000 people are under pressure with mortgage arrears, but that is not a true reflection. We all know that hundreds of thousands of people are struggling every week to make ends meet. They have to choose between paying their mortgage or paying for something else, like schoolbooks. We all have a duty to bring forward new ideas for change and I have no doubt the Government will do so. When the Minister for Finance has assessed the situation and has all the necessary information, he will bring forward some changes.

There are a couple of key areas we must home in on. We cannot concentrate too much on the question of debt forgiveness because we could become lost in that debate. Some of the banks, however, are starting to offer products which involve some interest or debt forgiveness. We will work on that, but we must find ways to give people help, guidance and advice on how to get out of debt. They must have a short-term plan as well as a long-term one, including restructuring, facing reality and seeing what they can do to earn extra income. They must receive proper advice, but I do not think the money advice and budgeting service, MABS, has either the required staff numbers or, in some cases, the necessary skills set to tackle this problem for everyone concerned. We need to strengthen MABS by giving it the expertise needed to advise people properly. In that way, people will be able to negotiate with their bank or credit union to restructure loans. Many Deputies are helping people to do this because they cannot get the necessary help and advice elsewhere. Most people will find a way out of this if they are given proper advice and do not let the banks bully them by ringing them ten times a day, which is unacceptable. We have a duty on this side of the House to ensure such help is provided.

We must also create time and space for people to be able to work this out. Some will have earning capabilities, perhaps from a new job, and so will have a chance to repay their debts, but others will not. Both categories of debtor need different strategies because one umbrella will not fit them all. They will need different plans to get out of debt. If a person loses their house, they will become a cost on the State and there will be a drawdown on the housing budget anyway. We must use our imaginations to find other ways of spending that money earlier to prevent the loss of family homes. I have dealt with people who cannot pay off their debts even with debt forgiveness amounting to €40,000 or €50,000. We must find a solution to keep such people in their family homes by some form of equity release either through a bank or private investor. In that way, another person may take a share of the house. Perhaps a local authority could buy the house while allowing the family to remain in it.

There is no magic wand to fix this problem overnight, but we must tackle it with new ideas. Many ideas have been raised in this debate, so I hope we can select the best ones to see what can be done. Everyone must focus on this matter realistically to offer solutions that can work and not just things that sound good. We need ideas that will contribute genuine solutions for people who are under serious pressure, something we cannot ignore.

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