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

During the past week there was much discussion of the mortgage arrears crisis, preparing the scene for yesterday's announcement by the Government. The question of repossessions loomed large in that discussion, worryingly so for many families. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, have been at pains to play down any prospect of repossessions. However, the civil servants tell a different story and paint a different picture. Last week the Secretary General, Mr. John Moran, announced that there would be and would have to be more repossessions and was attacked in a rather cowardly manner by Labour Party Ministers and senior figures in the Labour Party.

In response to yesterday's announcement Mr. Matthew Elderfield, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, was even more clear when he said repossessions had to be expected to rise significantly. He went further by saying that even those families who were engaging with their lenders might end up losing their homes. The reason he is saying this is that the Government's proposals announced yesterday essentially put the banks in the driving seat, about which there is no question. Banks are being given additional powers to set aside the code of conduct. Legislation will be passed to facilitate repossessions of family homes and, overall, the momentum is unquestionably towards repossessions. In addition, there are other issues, including people losing their tracker mortgages if deals are done with the banks. The Government essentially believes that if the banks are put in the driving seat and given the wherewithal, this crisis encompassing more than 182,000 people in arrears will be resolved. There is an essential flaw in that analysis because who will independently oversee the deals that are going to be done on behalf of mortgage holders? There is a huge disconnect between the official language and the reality for people on the doorstep, people who are in mortgage arrears and experiencing the banks coming at them in different ways.

I knocked on a door in Steeplechase in Ratoath yesterday and a gentlemen told me that three of his neighbours had received letters from the banks telling them that they had to sell their homes. This was on the day that the Taoiseach had told me in the House that essentially repossessions were not going to happen, except very extreme circumstances.

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