Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is important to remember the background to the current debt problem, particularly mortgage distress. The Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government, in particular, allowed a property bubble to develop and an inflationary trend in the building industry. Former Minister for Finance Mr. Charlie McCreevy had his name all over this. Over many years, Governments refused to control the price of land zoned for building. This effectively ensured the coming into being of the circumstances in which 100,000 mortgagors now find themselves. Every facet of the Irish establishment bought into the trend and young couples were told continually that they should buy property or the family home. They were told that if they did not get their foot on the ladder at that time, they never would. We can recall that all the daily newspapers had huge property supplements, all supporting the property bubble. The suicide reference by the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, is associated with the problem. The establishment told young people to the very end that there would be a soft landing and it was still the right time to purchase property. I reject out of hand the ongoing suggestion that all of us lost the run of ourselves. We did not. The majority of distressed mortgage holders are people who bought their family homes, not two or three properties. They are experiencing significant difficulties in repaying their mortgages and are in serious levels of negative equity. I know a family that bought a local authority home under the affordable housing scheme. The apartment's price was €278,000. It is now worth a maximum of €120,000. That the remaining apartments were on the private market for €375,000 indicates the madness of the situation.

Unfortunately, the previous Government's austerity policies are being continued by the current Government. Ordinary families might have had a chance of repaying their mortgages. Due to the large amount of money taken out of the economy and the knock-on effects, many people who took out large mortgages for family homes have become unemployed or suffered significantly reduced incomes and are genuinely not in a position to make repayments. This year's extraction of a significant amount of money from the economy has been promised again for the next two budgets, making it more difficult for families to meet repayments.

We need economic stimulus and growth to ensure job creation. Since the Government came to power, we have lost 18,100 additional jobs. Rather than job creation, we have seen job destruction. Unemployment devastates families, leading to significant health and mental health problems and even suicide. Recent statistics show as much. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the credit unions attest to the seriousness of the situations in which people are finding themselves.

This Bill has been long awaited and is welcome, but some of its aspects are disappointing. It should contain a number of cornerstones. For example, the system of debt regulation should be independent. I welcome and support the methods under the Bill for ensuring that people can remain in their family homes. Those methods should be non-judicial. My main difficulty with the legislation is the fact that the lender - effectively the banks, which the State has bailed out in recent years to the tune of €64 billion - will have a veto over the process. This is the Bill's most important provision and should be re-examined by the Minister. There must be independence so that, where borrowers and mortgage holders make reasonable attempts to reach agreements with their banks, these can be independently ordered so that banks will not have a veto.

Regarding the mortgage resolution officers and the reference to the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, MABS, the question of resources arises, as it does in the case of most legislation. I hope that the officers will be additional posts, particularly if they form part of the MABS structure. MABS is already under significant pressure and many of its offices are seeing long delays in dealing with queries, albeit through no fault of the staff. The additional officers would need to be highly qualified.

Will the Minister consider the issue of local authority loans? Perhaps I am wrong, but it is unclear as to whether the legislation addresses the matter. People who have mortgages with local authorities are experiencing significant problems. As of yesterday, I have been told that local authorities have no way of dealing with their mortgage holders. For example, they cannot allow interest-only mortgages, operate the mortgage-to-rent scheme or take over the properties and reinstate mortgage holders as tenants. This issue has been neglected. The Minister and his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, should consider it urgently.

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