Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to speak on behalf of the many families across the country enduring the very real physical and mental stress of mortgage arrears. I commend my colleague, Deputy Michael McGrath, on his tireless and continuous work on this issue. Under the current arrangements, there does not seem to be any end point for those in mortgage distress other than the loss of the family home by court order, forced surrender or the so-called voluntary sale. This Bill proposes that an independent office would be established within the Insolvency Service that would have the final say in respect of the restructuring of mortgage arrears for a family or individual. It would represent a fundamental change in our current system giving families and individuals some light at the end of the tunnel and the hope that they can enter an arrangement which is favourable to them.

In the midst of this housing crisis we often get caught up with statistics and drift away from the very real anguish being experienced by the people on the ground in mortgage distress. The current personal insolvency agreements are simply not working and I note 43% of applicants in the first quarter of this year were rejected because the lender failed to agree.

We must offer people a pathway to repayment that is realistic and fair. The establishment of this one-stop-shop to work between the lender and those in distress to put in place a realistic restructured payment package would offer tens of thousands of families some hope that they can retain their homes. We are creating a vicious cycle by which people are being forced out the front door of their homes and into the front door of their local authority to seek a place on the social housing list for houses that are not there or social assistance through the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, or the housing assistance payment, HAP.

The Government should investigate the possibility of extending the terms and conditions of the mortgage-to-rent scheme to include local authorities. The level of engagement from housing agencies is not sufficient in any way, shape or form. I contacted several housing agencies and they all spoke poorly of the current parameters of the mortgage-to-rent scheme and had little interest in engaging with those in distress. I rang the housing agencies to ask them to take people on in my constituency and they refused, saying they were not interested in the mortgage-to-rent scheme. The Minister of State should consider that and extend it to county councils such as Kilkenny County Council in my constituency, to enable us to have an input and help people in mortgage arrears.

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