Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

One cannot say that those in the institutions governing the State are not culpable. The enormity of the crash was a result of the way the economy was run on construction and credit. It was a fallacy which has resulted in the privatisation of debts on the people who are carrying this forward. I refer in particular to my generation which I call "Generation Jinxed" as so many have left the country and carried enormous debts. I am passionate about this as I am one of them and my friends and family feel this on a daily basis. I find it particularly difficult to understand why NAMA was established for developers under the Administration I call "the FIGS" for Fianna Fáil, Independents and Greens. Anybody with debts of more than €20 million was put into an institution and received a massive debt write down that is not politically influenced at this point in time. The average person at home is dealing with privatised debt, variable rates are going up and those on tracker mortgages are having their tracker mortgages removed. Increased outgoings, including water taxes and property taxes, and job losses have made it a particularly difficult time for a large number of people.

I welcomed the fact that we had a Cabinet that was of an age that could show maturity, that had experience and could go into the teeth of the abyss of the biggest catastrophe the State has every faced. I welcomed the fact that their shoes had been around the table before. However, it is a different generation that is feeling the brunt of the problem. I welcome that there are so many young speakers on this tonight. I do not know what quantum of money we will get, which is where I get to the problem I have. The banks have played masterful chess in this regard. They are now putting the boot in as their balance sheets have started to be repaired. Every loan they have is on a balance sheet and if property prices were suppressed and as low as they were five years ago, there would be no point in trying to squeeze people. They have left people at the end of their tethers due to the fact that they were not dealing with them. Now that they are dealing with them, they are saying "Hey, if you cannot afford the house, there is only one option". On the other side, is the State coming in and are local authorities providing homes for these people? Are we providing rent allowance immediately?

This is only going to get bigger. According to the figures with which I have been provided, Court 9 in the High Court is potentially dealing with 15,000 houses. That represents 15,000 families and 15,000 homes that may be removed from them. Time is too short on this. The finance committee has done an enormous amount of work and we have beaten the living daylights out of the banks when they have been in front of us. There is only one way this will be resolved and that is with an enormous chunk of money. It is not like the money that was given to NAMA. No money was left behind by the previous Administration and no money was provided for in the contributions of any Member of the Opposition in the debate on this Bill. The banks should not be sold until such time as they deal in a meaningful manner with the majority of those who can be accommodated in their homes. The debt must be socialised, not privatised to screw the individual.

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