Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I share the sentiments expressed by the Taoiseach and the concerns expressed by him and An Teachta Micheál Martin. There is a particular need to provide prompt and effective multi-agency aftercare, particularly counselling for the victims of abuse. This applies also to their families and peer groups.

My question is about folks in mortgage distress. There are now almost 200,000 families in mortgage distress, double the amount when the Taoiseach entered government. Sin méidú scannrúil ar líon na ndaoine a bhfuil ag stragáilt lena gcuid morgáistí. Tá eagla ar tuismitheoirí agus tá eagla ar teaghlaigh as they try to figure out whether to pay the mortgage or put food on the table. People are unable to sleep at night. The Taoiseach promised these families that there would be light at the end of the tunnel and that the personal insolvency service would be there to help them. Gheall sé é sin, ach cad a tharla? Grant Thornton analysed 1,057 real life cases of mortgage distress and found that 86% of the families in question were earning less than the reasonable living expenses set out by the Insolvency Service of Ireland. That means that these families have nothing left to pay down their mortgage debt. They have no excess income to pay upfront fees of more than €5,000. They are effectively excluded from the personal insolvency service. Does the Taoiseach accept that the personal insolvency strategy is flawed and will not work for many families? Accordingly, will he put in place a contingency measure if the analysis from Grant Thornton proves to be correct in order that no one is excluded?

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