Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

7 o’clock

The Minister of State was correct when he concluded by stating the provisions of the Bill are worthy of support. For that reason, Fianna Fáil will support this legislation. As the Minister of State has indicated, the purpose of the Bill is to broaden the range of matters that a court must take into consideration before it grants a possession order on a person's dwelling. However, I do not necessarily agree with him that this will have a significant impact on the way possession applications are dealt with at present. It is the case that any time an application for repossession comes before the courts, the courts are very sympathetic to the house owner - the person who is living in the house and who has received a mortgage from a financial institution which is now seeking possession of the property. In fact, I would say the courts will give the individual concerned as much leeway as possible. Anyone with experience of how the courts deal with possession cases will know that if the borrower is making any reasonable effort to repay the loan on an ongoing basis, the court will take that into account and, in general, will not grant the order for repossession sought by the financial institution. Obviously, it is difficult to be prescriptive in every case but, in general, the Judiciary is sympathetic to the position of persons who find themselves in mortgage arrears and who are brought before the courts by financial institutions.

Everyone agrees with the Minister of State that possession orders should be the last resort. Fortunately, those possession orders are not particularly high in percentage terms in Ireland. However, that does not take away from the fact there are very many people who find themselves in mortgage arrears and, through a lack of advice or inability to deal with their financial problems, find themselves before the courts. Therefore, any measure which puts further obligations on the court to take such matters into consideration at the time of a possession application is to be welcomed.

Although we are supporting this legislation, that support should not disguise the fact we still have a significant problem with mortgage arrears in this country and it is a problem that, regrettably, the Government has failed to deal with. This Bill will broaden the measures available to a court but, in reality, it is not really going to improve the difficult situation in which many Irish people find themselves in respect of mortgage arrears. It is important to put on record the statistics in respect of mortgage arrears that exist in Ireland at present. We know there are 19,300 mortgage accounts in arrears up to 90 days, amounting to some €32 million; 5,000 mortgage accounts in arrears between 90 and 180 days, amounting to €27.5 million; 5,300 mortgage accounts in arrears between 181 and 360 days, amounting to €58.8 million; 6,700 mortgage accounts in arrears between 361 and 720 days, amounting to €130 million; and 28,000 mortgage accounts in arrears over two years, amounting to €2.4 billion. There is a significant problem that persists in respect of significant mortgage arrears.

At present, the options available to those people are very limited. They may seek protection under the personal insolvency legislation but we know that legislation needs to be reformed. It was novel legislation when it was introduced but there are many practical problems with it that need to be resolved by the Oireachtas to make it more effective, particularly for people in mortgage arrears. Many years ago, Deputy Michael McGrath introduced legislation seeking to establish a mortgage resolution office. It was commendable legislation that sought to take away the veto from the banks so an independent statutory body could determine applications in respect of people's mortgages. That was rejected by the Government and, to this day, the banks and financial institutions retain a veto when it comes to the issues concerning people in mortgage arrears. In fact, the only real protection those people have is the courts. Sometimes this is not recognised. Sometimes it is believed the courts are there simply to rubber-stamp the applications of the financial institutions but that is not correct. The courts are the protector of the citizen and of the individual. If there are rights available to those individuals, then the courts will vindicate them. However, the Government needs to ensure that the protections available to those individuals are increased and improved.

We also need to recognise, and I am sure the Minister of State will agree with me, that vulture funds went unregulated for too long. However, as a result of legislation that Fianna Fáil introduced, the loan owners, which were previously unregulated, have been regulated for the first time. That was signed into law late last year and some 18,000 mortgage holders will have their loan owners regulated by the Central Bank, with that figure likely to rise.

Obviously, there was a significant financial crisis in this country. Very many people got into mortgage difficulties because they bought properties between 2005 and 2008 and they have mortgages which, for many, remain unsustainable. Many of these people have made valiant efforts to continue to pay off their mortgages and they deserve to be commended for that. We need to recognise there is a public interest in trying to ensure we do not have a significant number of people who are drowning in mortgages that they cannot meet and which are dominating their lives. There is a public interest in trying to resolve that issue.

Unfortunately, the Government, since it came to power in 2011, has done little to address the issue. I know the Minister of State is bringing forward this legislation because he is trying to improve the position of those individuals. As I said at the outset, I believe the provisions within it are worthy of support but it is not the answer to the ongoing problem of mortgage arrears in this country. That is a problem that can only really be resolved through greater statutory intervention proposed by the Government and enacted by this House. Unfortunately, it is something we are going to keep talking about until such time as there are proper measures in place to deal with it.

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