Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy should let me speak about the commitments we have to the homeowners and deal with the figures for what has happened to restructured accounts in our economy and society since we began dealing with this great difficulty.

The Deputy says I am sitting on my hands in dealing with this issue. Each year since the end of 2012, we have seen over 20,000 buy-to-let mortgages alone restructured. Over 100,000 mortgages for principal dwelling homes, PDHs, particularly family homes, have been restructured in the period. These are the figures and that is what has happened. It has happened because of the operation of the code of conduct on mortgage arrears. It has also happened because of the work of the Insolvency Service of Ireland which is engaging in an extensive advertising campaign to make clear to people who are in difficulty the support that can be offered to them. The Deputy well knows that, under the legal arrangement in place between the Government and the banks, I am not able to direct banks, even those in which the State has a shareholding, on the commercial decisions they make. He knows that is the nature of the arrangement in place with the banks. He knows that going down the path of political involvement in the operation of banks opens up further difficulty for them and those who depend on them for employment and investment, as well as in getting our money back from them. The figures for restructured accounts are clear. Accounts for over 100,000 homes, family homes in particular, have been restructured in recent years.

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