Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I will share time with Deputy McLoughlin.

I welcome this debate which I am sure many thousands of mortgage holders will follow with interest. I also welcome the publication of the Keane report as it provides a workable solution for those who are suffering negative equity and unmanageable mortgages. The report takes a considered approach and makes the correct distinction between those who cannot pay and those who will not pay. It does not propose blanket debt or negative equity forgiveness. Its authors have carefully considered the impact of such an approach on the beleaguered taxpayer as well as on those who cannot pay their mortgages.

We cannot view the problem of mortgage arrears purely through the prism of economics. The speculative nature of the property market over the past decade resulted in families paying over the odds for their private residence. The Government has a duty to protect the family home and I am pleased the Minister will address mortgage difficulties. It is important that children have a stable upbringing in their communities. Parents who have mortgage difficulties need help. I commend in particular the mortgage-to-rent scheme whereby families and people in extreme mortgage distress remain in the family homes as social housing tenants. This initiative allows an escape route without the loss of face involved in having to move out of one's home. People can remain in their communities and enjoy the social benefits. Mortgage interest supplement is also a good idea. This is the option whereby the Government pays towards the cost of interest in the short term. It allows people to meet their interest payments without suffering from spiralling debt, in which situation unpaid interest is added to capital debt. Too many families are under severe pressure. Some 45,000 households are 90 or more days in arrears. The Government is committed to assisting those families who are facing difficulties with their mortgages. Fine Gael campaigned on this issue during the general election and our plans formed part of the programme for Government.

I wish to raise another cohort of people who present at my advice clinics in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Divorced and separated women who are rearing families are especially vulnerable to falling into mortgage arrears. In many cases these women have given up their careers to raise their children. They do not have an income yet are saddled with exorbitant mortgages. Through no fault of their own they have had to take out mortgages to save the family home or pay off their partner. With the economic downturn this group has struggled to find suitable employment, is in negative equity and cannot afford basic household bills. I want the Minister to look at this group of women who have massive debts and to offer help to them by means of mortgage resolution or write downs. This group must be helped.

I reiterate my welcome for the report. I genuinely want a workable solution for those people who cannot pay their mortgages.

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