Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I join with all Members in the Christmas and New Year's greetings, particularly to the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas, including the ushers, caterers, clerical and administrative staff who serve and support us.

The right to keep a roof over their heads and to continue to live in their family homes is one of the most cherished aspirations of the Irish people and people the world over. I make no apology for returning to the question of families being bullied out of their homes or legally compelled to leave by banks bailed out by the Irish people. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have refused to answer the question in recent times and I appeal to the Minister to address the question and answer it. It is very straightforward and I appeal to the Ceann Comhairle to ensure the Minister answers the question. For thousands of people, the fear of losing the family home is palpable and traumatic. It is giving rise to serious mental health issues. People fear the sight of the postman in case he or she has the dreaded letter from the bank demanding the sale or repossession of the family home. Since I raised the issue a fortnight ago, the rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has borne out my contention that up to 30,000 families face the loss of their homes under the insolvency arrangements put in place by the Government.

Fitch puts the figure at 26,000 families on the basis of information given to the company directly by the banks. We are talking about people on low incomes whose only asset is a family home. They have fully engaged with lenders but have no disposable income.

This argument is widely accepted by people engaged in the mortgage distress area, such as the advocacy group New Beginnings, the free legal aid centres, the Phoenix project in Portlaoise, Grant Thornton and various personal insolvency practitioners across the country. New Beginnings has 1,000 distressed mortgage applications from people who see no out except for bankruptcy. Grant Thornton has a similar figure and when it studied 1,000 cases, it saw that up to 50% faced bankruptcy.

I want to ask a question I have already posed to the Taoiseach in the past couple of weeks. Does the Minister accept there is a serious problem and there are thousands of families on low incomes, below the minimum living expenses, who cannot avail of the insolvency process and who are facing the loss of the family home? What does the Government intend to do about that?

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