Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill in that we propose to move the date when people need to be in arrears to before 1 January 2017. Currently it is 1 January 2015. In other words, if a person fell into arrears only in the past two years there was no help for them or their struggling families. People could not avail of an appeals route if their original offer was refused.

In addition, moving the date forward to 2017 also allows many struggling home owners who may have gone into arrears in the past two years to access the State's financial assistance scheme for financial advice from the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, MABS, and Abhaile. The scheme allows those in mortgage arrears to get financial assistance to see the personal insolvency practitioners, PIPs, and solicitors who will be able to advise them on their options. A major issue is the valuation of the family home. I welcome the Bill's attempt to reduce the bank's influence in valuing properties by introducing a new mortgage resolution office. This rebalances the issue in favour of the home owner. I commend the Bill.

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