Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

That is something the Taoiseach can deal with straight away, here and now.

There are 100,000 families in serious mortgage distress, but where is the fairness for them in this budget? Almost 70 families are falling into serious mortgage distress every single day. While repossession rates have been low in comparison with other countries, that will not last forever. Some 1,048 families have lost their homes in the last two years, which is 1,048 repossessions too many. Without Government action this number will increase.

The Fine Gael-Labour programme for Government included clear promises on mortgage distress. They promised to direct mortgage providers in receipt of State support to cut their costs, yet today mortgages are more costly than when the Government took office. They promised to make greater use of mortgage interest supplement to support families who cannot meet their mortgage payments. Yesterday, however, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, announced a cut of €22.5 million to this benefit and increased the personal contribution for struggling home owners by up to €572 per year. Despite all the promises made during the election and in the programme for Government, Fine Gael and Labour are now taking the same minimalist approach that was taken by Fianna Fáil. Across the State, thousands of families face sleepless nights wondering how they will pay their mortgage bill next month. They will be faced with choosing between falling into mortgage arrears or buying their children presents for Christmas. They will have watched the budget speech, searching for something that would give them hope, and they will have been bitterly disappointed. They will ask a simple question: if the Government could find €20.7 billion for the banks since taking office, why could it not find anything for them? If it is so easy to bail out the banks comprehensively, why can the Government not provide any support to families at risk of losing their homes?

As it did following the publication of the Keane report in October, the Government has left struggling home owners at the mercy of the banks and saddled tens of thousands of home owners with decades of unsustainable debt. It could have chosen a different course and looked to prioritise maintaining the family home. It could have sought appropriate alternatives to ensure debt sustainability and found a way to ensure that the burden of mortgage distress is shared fairly between the borrowers and lenders.

The approach of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, in increasing mortgage interest relief to 30% for first-time buyers who purchased homes between 2004 and 2008 demonstrates that he does not understand the magnitude of the problem. This is the wrong approach as it will assist some but leave many others in continued distress. It is arbitrary, discriminatory and not enough. What about the family which bought a home before 2004, the family which needed to upgrade because of an increase in family size and the family which relocated in search of work? Does your measure assist these struggling mortgage holders? No, it does not.

I am very conscious that the Government has produced the budget we are debating against a backdrop of an intensifying European crisis that could have far-reaching implications for the future of Ireland and for the eurozone. My party leader and I have asked the Government on numerous occasions whether there is a contingency plan in place for dealing with any eventualities arising from the euro crisis. We know other Governments, including the French and Germans, have been developing such plans. Even investment firms in this city are developing such plans and have passed them on to their customers. Nevertheless, each time we raise this issue in the House the Taoiseach tells us he has every confidence in European partners and their ability to stabilise the crisis.

See this speech in context