Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this extremely important debate. I compliment my colleague, Deputy Michael McGrath, on bringing forward the motion. It is greatly to his credit that all Members, on both sides of the House, have been given a chance to debate this critical issue for the people. It is unfair to say my party is playing on people's fears. In fact, in recent months I have been inundated with requests for help from people struggling with mortgage arrears. They are asking me to intervene with the bank, fill in forms and so on, but what they really want is a reasonable solution.

The sensible solutions we have brought forward were not conceived in recent months. More than two years ago we introduced legislation to allow for the establishment of an independent debt settlement agency and introduce measures to safeguard the family home. That Bill which was introduced in Private Members' time was not opposed by the Government.

At that time, the Government felt it was good legislation and was, in some way, dealing with the issue. Unfortunately, in the intervening two years, instead of getting better, the problem got worse. It is not Fianna Fáil saying it is getting worse; any right-minded or fair-minded independent analysis tells us it is getting worse. The figures speak for themselves. The Central Bank director of credit institutions and insurance supervision, Ms Fiona Muldoon, speaking to the Irish Banking Federation conference in 2012, criticised the lack of long-term sustainable solutions to the arrears problems. She said it was a drag on the economy, new lending and future profitability of the banks. The distressed credit review carried out by the Central Bank found in February of that year that there was an absence of an appropriate cultural skill set in banks to deal with the mortgage crisis and that workout teams were under-resourced and poorly equipped to engage with customers. Short-term forbearance has been the main response, leading to high default rates and few long-term solutions.

We brought forward sensible solutions, in contrast to what the Government has done. While in opposition, Government parties said they would swoop into office and put manners on the banks. In the past number of years we have seen the number of families in arrears escalate to 144,000. As a result of the arrears, they are having sleepless nights and suffering psychological problems, as alluded to by a previous speaker. If we ask what guidance the Government has given the banks to deal with these families, recent initiatives by the Government, far from putting manners on the banks, ensure the balance of power has moved away from distressed mortgage holders and firmly into the hands of the banks. In the past few weeks, the Government has approved the revised code of conduct on mortgage arrears. The new code of conduct removes essential protections from the homeowner. It removes the limit of three successful unsolicited communications per month. For the first time, the banks personnel can call directly to the home of a person and there are no safeguards to ensure this level of conduct will not be abused. The moratorium on legal proceedings has gone from 12 to eight months or three months after the mortgage arrears process is complete. Some 15,000 houses fall within that category, meaning 53,000 families could face eviction and mortgage repossession. There is no entitlement to a minimum level of income. What a family must survive on month to month will be determined at the total discretion of the bank. All Members of the House can give examples of experiences of so many families in the past number of years, before the new code of conduct and before the Government gave the banks a pathway to move into an aggressive mode of dealing with the issue.

Previous Government figures have tried to apportion blame for where we are today. In Davos, the Taoiseach said we all partied and that we all must take some element of responsibility. It is very easy to score political points off one another and grandstand. That is very little help to thousands of people who feel neglected and let down and that there is no sense of hope or light at the end of the tunnel. The onus is on all of us in the House to come up with sensible solutions and a sense of hope that things will get better and that people can retain ownership and live in their family homes. Not only is it one of the biggest barriers to growth and recovery in Ireland, it is doing untold psychological damage to the men and women weighed down by the burden of debt. There are no statistics for Ireland but a 2011 survey of 7,000 people in the UK found those in debt were twice as likely as those not in debt to contemplate suicide.

We can move away from the need to address this from an economic perspective. We should look at the damage from a psychological perspective to men and women who are citizens of the State. The onus is on us to bring forward a sensible solution. The charter and the decisions should not remain with the bank. Fianna Fáil produced a number of solutions to ensure there was an independent arbitrator so the banks could not ride roughshod over the citizens of the State. Have we learned nothing over the past number of years about how banks can mislead and mistreat people? There should be an independent arbitrator to determine the terms and conditions of sustainable solutions. Some people are blatantly not paying their mortgages, and they should be dealt with, but 95% of the 144,000 people want to pay what they can.

I met a woman recently whose husband walked away from her four years ago. He left her on her own with two young children. Her only means of income is the one-parent family allowance and child benefit. She has a variable rate mortgage of €700 per month. The ECB has maintained rates at an unprecedented low level but she is paying a variable rate of over 4%. She finds it hard to put food on the table. When she sought help from the local community welfare officers, she was advised they are unable to help her because her estranged husband's name remains on a mortgage. An arm of the State is unable to help someone who is making every effort to repay a mortgage.

There are only 144 cases of split mortgages. The mortgage to rent scheme was championed by the housing section of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. It was going to apply to families who were never in a position to repay mortgages and who are weighed down by the burden of debt. The mortgage to rent scheme was introduced over 12 months ago and the figures to the end of March show 37 cases complete. I do not know how any Government Deputy can come into the House and say the Government is taking the crisis seriously. The figures speak for themselves and unfortunately they are not giving the crisis the attention it deserves. I thank the Acting Chairman for his forbearance.

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