Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)

This by-election is an opportunity for the people in Dublin West to send a clear message that they want action, not empty promises, from the Government to tackle the mortgage crisis. This is an area, ranging from Swords in north Dublin to Clonee on the Meath border, where over the past decade there have been huge developments of housing and apartments during the property boom. Many of the 10,000 unemployed in Dublin West bought their homes in this period. There was a deliberately inflated bubble, bringing significant profits for developers, builders and banks which forced people to take out huge mortgages on massively over-valued houses and apartments. The United Left Alliance and Councillor Ruth Coppinger reject any notion that there is a moral hazard in assisting people who are victims of a bubble deliberately inflated by bankers and developers with the assistance of the Fianna Fáil-led Governments.

Four key groups need assistance and Councillor Ruth Coppinger will fight tooth and nail on these issues. People in their family homes, who are in arrears and who need short to medium-term assistance cannot be left to the banks. We need an independent agency to assess their ability to pay. Those who want out of the huge debt they cannot pay should have an option to be tenants in their own homes. Those who, unfortunately, have already been evicted from their homes should have outstanding debt after sale written off. This is a huge noose around the necks of ordinary people. The problem of negative equity means we will have to bring mortgages into line with the value of property. The banks have already been bailed out in this regard and we must bail out the people in the case of their homes. The bankruptcy laws must be changed in order that no person in his or her family home is affected by bankruptcy laws and no person in a family home will see himself or herself caught up in the bankruptcy laws for up to 12 years.

I call on the people in Dublin West to use this opportunity to use their vote to send a strong message to the Government, especially Labour, that they want change, not broken promises of change. They want real change to put people's needs before profits and greed. Bail out the people, not the bankers. The Socialist Party and United Left Alliance candidate, Councillor Ruth Coppinger, will make this issue one of the key issues in this by-election and, if elected, will bring that fight into the Dáil as a strong Opposition United Left Alliance TD.

See this speech in context