Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Governor says the situation is getting worse. On Sunday he said there are many people who cannot pay and that distressed mortgages are not being dealt with in significant numbers. He said this was the reason he and others in the Central Bank were tearing their hair out. I suggest many people across the country are tearing their hair out at the lack of any progress on this issue. The Central Bank is not happy at all with the progress the banks are making in this regard. Many Members of this House meet on a daily basis families in deep distress who are making reasonable efforts to cope with their situation but who are not getting a sufficient response from the banks. There is a strong correlation between mortgage arrears and mental health issues and there is a genuine crisis at this time.

The Governor of the Central Bank spoke about the need to be more directive with the banks, notwithstanding the risks associated with that. The Keane report was published 18 months ago, but very little has happened since in the context of practical, innovative responses from the banks. Only 12 split mortgages have been effected since then and only one mortgage-to-rent arrangement. Therefore, the response to the Keane recommendations by the banks has been appalling. Given that the banks got €9 billion in the context of their recapitalisation to deal with mortgage modification and losses and were supposed to use that funding intelligently, what plans has the Government to direct the banks to engage once and for all with customers and to deal with this issue? As Fiona Muldoon, the deputy Governor of the Central Bank, has said, the banks have been in complete denial on this issue for far too long.

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