Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I wish to ask the Taoiseach about the question of a new mortgage moratorium. The Tánaiste is quoted in the papers this morning as saying the lockdown will cost 150,000 jobs. I do not know how many mortgage holders are in that cohort but I imagine quite a lot as well as many more who will have their incomes negatively affected while still holding onto their jobs. During the first lockdown, a six-month mortgage moratorium was put in place. What will be put in place in the course of this lockdown? Of course, the answer is not entirely in the Government's hands because with the privatisation of the banks, it cannot control what it does not own. The Government is, however, in a strong position to put the banks under serious pressure to provide for a proper mortgage moratorium in this situation.

On Leaders' Questions earlier, the Taoiseach indicated that the Minister for Finance will call the banks in. I would have thought they would have been called in today. I am surprised they have not. I wonder why they have not been called in. If they are not coming in today, when will they come in? Will it be tomorrow, Thursday or Friday? Surely to God it will happen this week. Huge numbers of mortgage holders are anxious and are looking at this question very carefully at the moment. What will the Taoiseach ask for? What will be his ask when he goes to meet the banks? What is he saying should be done in terms of, first, the duration of a moratorium and, second, this moratorium not being one whereby people are forced to pay interest, making money for the banks in a pandemic. The moratorium should be interest-free.

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