Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I draw to the Minister's attention to the case of a family in my constituency that I have dealt with for some years. The family has been in torment because of the relationship with the Permanent TSB since they restructured their mortgage four years ago. It is a family of five; two adults and three children, one of whom has a severe range of disabilities and requires constant care and attention.

Two years ago, along with the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, MABS, I fought Permanent TSB to ensure that the child's domiciliary care payment was not taken into account as part of the household income being assessed towards ability to service a mortgage. After great difficulty, Permanent TSB relented and allowed the family to split the mortgage and warehouse a section of it. Since then, the family has never actually missed a payment. Both parents are working as well as looking after three children, one of whom has a high level of disability. Now the family has gone back into all the uncertainty and a hellish situation about what is the future of their home because it appears that Permanent TSB may sell their loan over their heads, effectively to a fund. We do not know what approach the fund will take or if the family could potentially end up homeless. This would be an incredible cost to the State but especially to the family in light of their particular circumstances.

This is just one of many cases. As the Minister is aware, the thousands of people in this type of situation are extremely worried about what will be their fate will. He cannot stand idly by and wash his hands of the situation.

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