Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Inniu, beidh Eagraíocht Naomh Uinseann de Pól ag foilsiú tuairisc s'acu a inseoidh, don chéad uair, go bhfuil breis agus 100,000 duine ag tiontú chuig an eagraíocht sin fá choinne tacaíocht fá choinne ghnáth chaiteachas cosúil le ola fá choinne teach a théthú nó bia a chur ar an tábla nó fa choinne chomhneartú don Chéad Chomaoineach nó don Nollaig. Taispeánann seo an deacracht agus na himpleachtaí atá ag polasaithe lochtacha an Rialtais le dhá bhliain anuas.

Last year the number of people who turned to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul exceeded 100,000 for the first time, a figure that has doubled in the past three years. Their stories paint a picture of the real impact of austerity and the policies implemented by the Taoiseach and his Government in recent years. If the Taoiseach reads these stories he will hear of an elderly couple, aged 85 and 82 years, with a life's work behind them, who turned to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for the first time, simply to be able to heat their home. They were donors to the society in the past but now they have nowhere else to turn. The Taoiseach will hear of the middle-class family with four children living in a comfortable area in Dublin, in which the husband is employed but there is nothing to eat. The reason they have nothing to eat is that they prioritised their mortgage payments in order to keep a roof over their heads. Eventually, when their savings had gone, they hit breaking point and turned to the St. Vincent de Paul. This family would not even register among the 180,000 families who are in mortgage distress, as shown in the latest report, because the family has not yet slipped into arrears. Their situation reflects that of many other thousands of people throughout this State. People are going without food and cutting back on heating and other essentials just to meet their mortgage repayments. One in four mortgages are in arrears, a shocking and alarming figure.

The Taoiseach needs to realise that this is a crisis situation that is out of control. His Government promised to prioritise those in mortgage arrears, but yesterday, two years after that commitment, the Central Bank's chief economist stated that Irish banks are still dragging their heels in regard to mortgage distress. What these families need are real solutions, not more vetoes for banks or platitudes. The Taoiseach needs to understand this. When is the penny going to drop? The banks will not do this on their own; they will not solve the problem, because they are part of the problem. What is needed is proactive implementation of a policy of targeted restructuring of distressed mortgages and, where sustainable, write-downs of those mortgages in order that people can stay in their homes. Will the Taoiseach ensure the banks follow such an approach and will the Government use all the means at its disposal, including the weight of the Central Bank, to ensure such a policy is implemented for many of these people who unfortunately have had to turn to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and others?

See this speech in context