Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach referred to the fact the Government has come up with a number of initiatives. He must accept they have had a minor impact. The last time I read about the rent-to-buy initiative, it appeared that one person was involved. I know the voluntary housing sector is working with AIB in particular to do something about people in arrears. The number of people who are benefiting is infinitesimally small relative to the growing number of people in distress. Deputy Adams rightly referred to the 180,000 mortgages that are in distress, and that figure might exceed the 200,000 mark by the time the Insolvency Service of Ireland is up and running.

What does the Taoiseach envisage in terms of the capacity of the agency to deal with the vast number of cases that will face it? I also wish to refer to the impact of the property tax on the buy to let sector which is now in considerable difficulty. I understand 100,000 people are on local authority waiting lists. The Central Bank has described the pillar banks as continuing to be in denial. As a result of the budget additional burdens will be placed on those who have buy to let properties, are in negative equity and at risk of repossession. They will carry the burden of the property tax, and this is in parallel with the work being done by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, who we can say in a general sense has a mandate to do something about the €500 million a year spent on rent subsidy. If the Government is driving down rent subsidy but also increasing the cost burden on those in arrears in the buy to rent market, it will store up additional problems for us. What will happen to the tenants, many of them very ordinary people-----

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