Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Government is acutely conscious of the impact of debt on families across the country and we are determined to see that it is resolved. People have to move forward with their lives and I understand the worry and stress that is involved for people when they have big mortgage debt in respect of their homes. In other cases, people who got married bought a house and may have held on to an apartment or previous home as they were advised at the time by the bank broadly to do that. There are many families who have great difficulties with debt and everybody shares an enormous concern that they and their children should be helped as much as possible.

Our priority remains keeping borrowers in their homes whenever this is possible.

In relation to the report in The Irish Timesthis morning, the significant point to make is that the article points out clearly that there is a small, but welcome, fall in the actions before the courts. In fact, in terms of the detailed information from the courts, 90 to 100 of the cases before the courts are struck out or rescinded on a monthly basis. They are refused, they are withdrawn or they are struck out.

If Deputy McDonald or anybody else is aware of a family who have these kind of difficulties, or an individual who has these difficulties, the most important advice we can give is that they would engage with their lenders. Where they go to court, the courts deal with the cases in a thoughtful and careful manner. In fact, there has been detailed research carried out by commentators, such as Mr. Seamus Coffey, Mr. Karl Deeter and Mr. Brendan Burgess, who have written a series of important articles over the past period of time setting out in detail what is likely to happen to borrowers who go into the court process. There are other studies and statistics showing this as well. If borrowers engage with their lenders and if it does end up before the courts, the courts are routinely granting significant periods of adjournment in order to give more time for the parties to reach an agreement and where parties are committing to pay within the context of their means, the courts are allowing those arrangements. It is clear from the court cases to date that in a situation of last resort where it is not possible to reach an agreement or, as has been reported in the articles to which I refer, where many borrowers do not show up in court at all, as a consequence, notwithstanding that the courts are delaying those cases and adjourning them, notwithstanding the fact that the courts are offering time and space for the two parties to mediate and reach an agreement, there are still many borrowers who are not engaging at all. That is a point of difficulty. Thankfully, in the figures this morning, notwithstanding that they are far higher than anybody here would want to see, we are now in a situation where, according to the article, "The number of bills lodged fell by 30 per cent". It is traumatic for anybody to end up in court in relation to their family home. It is only when we see that figure down to little or nothing that we will be satisfied. That is what the article and the statistics show, as do the statistics from the Courts Service. As I say, I note the articles written by respected independent commentators at frequent intervals in the media.

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