Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Local authority loans are part of the stock of mortgage loans which also includes other types of loans. The Government acknowledges that many families are in serious distress with their mortgages. This is the reason the Government is bringing forward a series of measures to deal with personal insolvency and debt. These measures have been widely welcomed by organisations that deal with people in mortgage distress, including the Money Advice and Budgeting Service which is funded by my Department. Last year, my Department made payments totalling €90 million in respect of mortgage interest supplement for families in distress. The personal insolvency legislation will proceed in this session.

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