Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)

Last night, I mentioned that four out of ten local authority loans are 90 days or more in arrears. I urge the Government to take action on this; it has it within its power to do something about it. Some of the loans are shared ownership. One thing the Government could do would be to freeze the rent on the fraction that has been bought. Instead, the rent is increasing by 4% per year, including last year.

However, in the remaining time available to me I wish to focus my attention on a constituent of mine, Lee Wellstead, who was evicted today. It is the first eviction in the townland of Knockanina, in which he lives, since 1848. In 2003, he bought four acres and a house for €180,000. He made a down payment of €100,000 and got a mortgage from Ulster Bank for €80,000 which he subsequently topped up by €30,000 in the same year. In June 2006, following the breakdown of his relationship, he ran into difficulty with his mortgage. The balance at that time was €92,000. It should be borne in mind that this is a substantial house with four acres of land. Ulster Bank called in the full loan on 19 July 2006. It has since refused payment from him despite him making several written offers including a lump sum or weekly payments, or both.

I believe the bank is in breach of the statutory code introduced by the previous Government, whereby the banks are obliged to negotiate and reach an accommodation with the borrower. This did not happen in this case at all. The banks and the State are behaving like 19th century landlords, evicting this man this morning. Gardaí arrived with the bailiff and locked the gates of the house with a chain. It is terrible that this is happening. The banks have a free hand. It is a pity that no Minister or even Government Deputy is in the House to hear this. We are being told we have the personal insolvency Bill and the Keane report. While that is happening, Mr. Wellstead and his family have been evicted from their house. As the Government has been in power for more than a year, I am appealing to it to take action on this soon.

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