Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is little doubt that the mortgage crisis is one of the major obstacles to economic recovery. The Government parties can speak about growth and recovery, but continuously falling living standards for the majority makes all talk of recovery sound a little bizarre. The people, through no choice of their own, have given billions of euro to Irish banks. In return, they are being failed by the banks, economically and socially. The mortgage crisis has worsened, not improved. The two characteristics that have most defined the performance of the banks in the past few years of the crisis are mismanagement and inconsistency. I have been shocked by the number of people who have contacted me to tell me about their problems with the banks. The inconsistency is frightening. Some people are being treated fairly, while others are not. Those who have equity in their homes but are unable to pay their mortgage are getting the rawest deal of all. Many of them are being threatened with repossession or being offered unattractive alternatives. They believe they are in a poor position. It is beginning to look like as if people would be better off being in serious negative equity, rather than having equity in their house if they are looking for a fair deal from the banks. Will the Government establish a framework to ensure consistency in the way the banks treat everyone?

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