Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Chair for selecting this topic and the Minister of State for attending. He will be aware there is a serious crisis developing across the State in regard to shared ownership. People on the housing list and-or on low income availed of this facility in recent years. Applicants had to provide proof of two refusals from private lenders to avail of this loan.

This week alone, three houses in my area, Finglas, are up for repossession. A number of weeks ago, I was at the scene of an eviction in Finglas that received none of the attention a recent eviction in an affluent area received. This one concerned a sole property owner, not a person with multiples of properties. By next September there will be 70 shared ownership repossessions within Dublin City Council, dating from the last couple of years up to September. Fifty per cent of these were abandoned by individuals and families. Others were taken due to arrears and non-payment after attempts to resolve the problems failed.

There are approximately 1,400 shared ownerships within Dublin City Council and approximately 6,000 to 7,000 throughout the country. Of these, 30% are 90 or more days in arrears. At present there 29 further cases of people who are unable to pay Dublin City Council, all of whom have been classed as in urgent need of housing. This crisis is heading towards major catastrophe for the families and individuals concerned.

The Keane report is all about private mortgages and private debt and does not address local authority lending and the debt accrued in that regard. The money received by local authorities came through the Housing Agency. What is the status of this report? We need the issue of shared ownership loans to be included in any solution. Although interest-only relief can be obtained on the mortgage section of these loans, the rent to local authorities rises by 4% each year. Negative equity is now a major disincentive for families fighting for these homes. The local authorities need help to take these homes in charge, with the residents' consent, and to keep families in their homes, charging them the normal local authority rent. It is a simple solution but it would be costly. I understand that, but we are in such a crisis in this regard it may be necessary for this to be done.

I realise people in these shared ownerships did not have to pay stamp duty; nor do they have to pay the household charge. Although this is a welcome relief it is not enough to alleviate the problems we face. Many of these loans were obtained by families such as lone parents on community employment schemes, or in other situations. We can argue to and fro as to whether this was the right thing to do at the time but the reality is we are now faced with the crisis affecting these families. I hope the Minister of State will look at this problem and respond to some of these issues.

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