Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)

The first advice, which is what we all give, is that people should engage with their lender as early as they can. Similarly, the lending institutions need to engage. I wish to be clear about that. We want local authorities to be proactive and to engage with people when they are in difficulties before they are at the point of being on the street, as the Deputy observed.

The new measures provide a means by which an authority can carry out a needs assessment at any time after a mortgage has been deemed to be unsustainable and before repossession proceedings have been instituted. Perhaps all local authorities need to be reminded about this area. Certainly the intention is that they would be proactive and would assess the difficulties a person has well in advance of repossession of the house.

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