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

The Minister of State should not try to lecture me from the Government benches.

Deputy Barry wanted to lecture the rest of us. He said we have to be careful in terms of the long-term consequences because of the misery that this could cause. What about the misery that people are enduring at the moment? I refer to the misery that tens of thousands of families are enduring. They are waiting for this Government which is not in its first, second or third week in office but which has been in office for its fifth year, and it has still left so many tens of thousands of families in mortgage distress which is not only harming them and their mental health but also harming the economy and the community. Deputy Barry said that at all costs we should not agree with Deputy Michael McGrath's proposal along with others in these benches, which is that one of the solutions should be a debt write-down.

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