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

There is no more obvious sign that working families are bearing the brunt of austerity than the crisis that many are facing every single month in trying to pay their mortgages. Since 2011, my party has warned that the Government did not appreciate the urgency of the situation. At that time we called for a new, time-limited, distressed mortgage resolution body. Such a body would be an independent arbiter, tasked with reaching resolution agreements for those in mortgage distress. While such an agreement between lenders and borrowers should be on the basis of joint agreement, we said that the resolution body should have the powers to impose agreements.

We showed how the primary aim of that body should be to assist mortgage holders maintain their family home. Options to achieve that would include reducing the size of the mortgage. That is what we have been calling for since this Dáil was formed nearly two years ago.

The figures are shocking, and I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Costello, is aware of them. During the Government's time in office the figures have got worse. One in four mortgage holders is in distress and 115 mortgage holders fall into distress every single day. That is a figure I need to repeat time and time again. This time tomorrow, another 115 people will be in mortgage distress, and that has been the daily figure for the last two years since the Government took office. Shocking as those figures are, they do not paint the full picture. They cannot measure the number of mortgage holders who are going without necessities because they prioritise their mortgage repayments above all else. They do not show how much the real domestic economy is missing out as mortgage holders refrain from spending to make sure they have sufficient money each month to pay their mortgage.

We are living through a State-wide social crisis. How many fathers and mothers are suffering bad health from the stress of being in arrears or because the prospect of losing their family home is hanging over them? This situation cannot be allowed to fester. The Government must step up to the mark and start dealing with issues and proposing solutions that will work.

Sinn Féin was critical of the Personal Insolvency Bill because it failed on one core issue. It failed to remove the veto on lenders over any agreed plans. No independent voice was empowered to say, "Enough is enough" when it needed to be said. That is the critical flaw which means the Personal Insolvency Act will not bring about a major change in the mortgage crisis. It will be an irrelevance for the majority of mortgage holders who are in distress or who may fall into distress in the future. It is not a solution. The Government needs to get real and recognise that.

The Keane report remains unimplemented. It was a conservative and uninspiring attempt to bring about some solutions but even that report remains, for the large part, on the shelf gathering dust. On top of this inaction, we see a Government determined to heap more difficulties on struggling lower and middle income earners. It would be almost comical, if it were not serious, that at the height of the mortgage crisis the Government is moving to tax the family home. Later this year, we will see water meters installed in these same homes. We are living through a mortgage crisis and the Government has set its face to taxing the roofs over these families' heads and the water they live on.

The Government tries to wash its hands of the crisis, and that is simply not good enough. That inaction has resulted in this crisis getting worse on a daily basis. Today, the media reported that the chief executive of AIB has announced that the bank will write to 33,000 of its customers who are in arrears. I am sure many AIB customers who are in arrears will welcome this initiative and hope it will bring some finality and solace to the reality of not being able to repay their mortgages. The statements in the media, however, give us some insight into what the bank is planning. The initiative only deals with those who are in mortgage arrears. It does not deal with those who have already been restructured. Many people who are in mortgage distress have been restructured into interest only payments. That is not a solution and is definitely not a long-term solution. It may provide a short-term solution until a more comprehensive one is looked at. The fact that AIB has excluded that category of borrowers from this initiative shows it will be taking a minimalist approach.

That is why Sinn Féin believes the Government has a duty to intervene and tackle this crisis. In this motion, we call on the Government to take action, not to sit on its hands but to force the banks to deal with this crisis. Our motion offers our alternative, which is a direct taking on of the issue. The one in four who are in mortgage distress do not want, and cannot afford, to wait around for the Government to face the reality of the extent of the crisis.

The first concrete action the Government must take is to revisit the Personal Insolvency Act and remove the final say from lenders. The veto must be removed. As long as lenders have a veto there is little reason for them to seek fair compromises. Sinn Féin is calling, as we have done for the past two years, for independent agreements on mortgage distress to be decided by a mortgage restructuring panel appointed by the Minister. This panel would be empowered to act as an arbitrator with authorisation to impose on both parties agreements aimed at prioritising the protection of the family home. It is regrettable that such a move is necessary but as this crisis deepens, the banks must be made show some willingness to face reality. Only such a panel appointed by the Minister can fulfil that necessary role. It would be more desirable that the banks do this themselves, but we need a carrot and stick approach. The mandate of the new panel should, explicitly, allow for write-downs on portions of mortgages where necessary. That is only accepting reality for many mortgage holders throughout the State. Other options, including debt for equity swaps, mortgage to rent and short selling, should be available in settlements when independent agreements on mortgage distress are being reached.

The crisis is out of hand, in no small part because of the inaction and unreasonable approach of lenders. These same lenders lent recklessly and some had to come crawling to the State to be rescued. The State appointed, and still appoints, so called public interest directors to the boards of these same lenders. These, supposedly, act in the interest of the citizens. Some of these public interest directors have come before the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform in recent months. These so called directors, including former Members of the Dáil and former Ministers, including former Fianna Fáil Ministers, have not shown a smidgin of interest in the public. They are part of the old failed system and they need to be told their role is to protect the public interest and not the interests of the banks. If they are unprepared to do that they should move aside and let someone else take their place. These same people receive hundreds of thousands of euro to represent the people. They are failing to protect the public interest and they should resign.

We must also see the Central Bank step up to the mark. Time and again, Governor Honohan has made the right noises when he comes before an Oireachtas committee but he needs to show the same steel when talking to lenders. It is also the duty of the Central Bank to ensure that the code of conduct for mortgage arrears is adhered to by all. The code lays out best practice for resolutions and, critically, lays out the rights of borrowers to be free from harassment.

To date, the Government has taken a minimalist approach to the crisis. The Keane report was the bare minimum and even its recommendations have not been implemented. It is time to take the final say from the lenders and give it to a panel representing the public interest. It is time to look at write-downs and other options when they are needed. It is time to give those who did not cause this crisis a break.

Throughout our recent economic crisis, the Government has chosen to have working people carry the heaviest burden. That burden has become unsustainable in many cases and family homes are at stake. This is unfair. Irish people are proud to be home owners and we must act to ensure that their rights and dignity are protected. We must move beyond fine words, and act. It is time to get real. I commend the motion to the House.

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