Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I have written to the Governor of the Central Bank, Professor Patrick Honohan, to outline to him my views on these issues. The reality is that how one is treated depends on the bank with which one has one's mortgage. There are significant differences in approach among the banks. That is the reality people are facing. The banks are operating within a framework established by the Central Bank. However, there is a need for greater consistency because people are being treated quite differently depending on the institution with which they have their business. That is unfair. Some progress has been made, but approximately four out of every five borrowers whose mortgages are in arrears have not had a permanent restructuring put in place, which is unacceptable. Given how far we are into this crisis, much more progress must be made. One can state the average amount of arrears of €13,000 among those AIB customers whose mortgages are in arrears is manageable. However, that level of arrears could represent the fact that someone has not been able to pay his or her mortgage for 12, 18 or 24 months. Being obliged to pay down that amount would constitute a serious problem for many of those involved. There is much more work to be done. I acknowledge that some progress has been made, but it has been far too slow. It is not acceptable that four out of five people whose mortgages are in arrears have still not had permanent restructurings put in place. We must do better than this.

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