Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is a key point of my question. On 20 February, the Minister told me:

I have informed the Deputy previously that letters threatening repossession or legal action could not in my opinion be considered a sustainable solution under the mortgage arrears targets ... .

In November last, he stated:

I have previously informed the House that letters threatening repossession or legal action could not, in my opinion, be considered a sustainable solution under the mortgage arrears targets process and should only ever be considered after every possible avenue for a solution has been exhausted.

These banks are not exhausting every option because these banks do not even offer some of the options that are available. As the Minister owns nearly the entire shareholding in AIB, let us give him the detail of AIB. I ask the Minister to tell this House whether he is satisfied with the bank, of which he is nearly the sole shareholder on behalf of the State. At the end of last year, AIB had made just over 14,000 proposals, of which 6,702 were letters threatening legal repossession and 1,573 were with regard to voluntary surrender or abandonment. Of the 14,000, around 8,200 proposals would have either forced borrowers out of their houses or placed them in a position in which they would be badgered to give up their houses. Is that something with which the Minister is satisfied? When will he tell AIB that it is not acceptable to use repossessions to meet the targets? Not one bank would have met its targets if it were not for legal letters threatening repossession.

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