Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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My concerns about this Bill arise from my personal experience of dealing with people who incurred serious debt during the boom through sub-prime lending. Like others in this House, I have spent a significant part of my life advising people on the way out of debt. This Bill gives rise to certain problems in this regard and I hope the Minister will see fit to introduce amendments during the course of its passage through the House.

Over the past four years a considerable number of people have struggled valiantly to meet their commitments, including in some cases guarantees for their children's mortgages. These individuals are now in a very difficult position. It is important that we recognise the efforts they have made. Another group of people were advised to borrow heavily to purchase their houses. I refer to those who borrowed to purchase their homes rather than for frivolous purposes. They purchased property in an inflated market because they feared they would never get another opportunity to own a home of their own. It is part of the psyche of the Irish people that we own our own houses. A land war was fought in this country over home ownership and the right to own one's own place. Many of these people were put in a position from which they cannot extricate themselves because of sub-prime lending and bad advice. The killing factor in this situation is compound interest and penalties. Penalties and compound interest should not be entertained while we attempt to resolve the problems that burden so many people in this country.

I recognise that certain personalities, for want of a better word, got into difficulty because they decided to borrow many times the normal amount. However, thousands of ordinary householders are attempting to make their repayments even though they are in receipt of nothing more than a social welfare payment of €198 per week. They are in a terribly difficult position. I would love to have time to speak about their plight in more detail because this is an issue which will stay with us for many years to come. If we do this right, it will live with us, but if we do it wrong, it will follow us for the rest of our lives. I asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to take account of the problems arising in respect of interest penalties.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Tá mé buíoch go bhfuil deis agam labhairt ar an ábhar seo. Cé go bhfuilimid ag fanacht tamall fíor-fhada le haghaidh reachtaíocht ar an bhfadhb seo, atá ag cur isteach ar 100,000 duine faoi láthair, cuirim fáilte roimh go leor den mhéid atá sa Bhille atá foilsithe faoi dheireadh. Caithfidh mé a rá, áfach, go bhfuil sé lochtach i dtaobh an fíor-fhadhb atá sa tír seo, a bhaineann leo siúd nach bhfuil ábalta socruithe a bhaint amach lena bainc. De réir na reachtaíochta seo, beidh veto ag na bainc go fóill. On entering office, the Government faced a number of challenges in terms of rectifying the problems that faced this State as a result of the destructive policies of Fianna Fáil and its partners in Government. One of the problems that remains to be resolved by the Government is mortgage distress. The other big issue that people must address is managing their personal lives while coping with the social welfare system, public services and the taxes they are required to pay. The Government's first test on these big issues was in the budget. It could have cast off the cloak of austerity that Fianna Fáil had worn but decided instead to wrap itself in the same austerity policies which had wrecked the economy.

The budget hurt the economy and inflicted huge pain in the people who will be affected by this legislation. Earlier today the CSO published the quarterly national accounts, which reveal that the contraction in GDP was 1.1% higher than last quarter. That massive contraction is the first test of the Government's policy of changing direction by stimulating growth. I do not remember how many times Members on the other side of the House have announced that their policies were about growth, growth and growth. Today the CSO has shown that the Government failed miserably when it comes to devising budgetary policies which can change direction in how people spend, save and invest. The answer will be given in detail tomorrow when the full quarterly national accounts are published.

The Government's second test is dealing with the 100,000 families who are in mortgage distress. Some of them have borrowed excessively but they were involved in a system which told them to get on the property ladder before it is too late. I was a Senator when Donie Cassidy imparted his words of wisdom to the young people of Ireland by telling them to buy now.