Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I, too, support the calls for a debate on NAMA, the proposal for which seems to be half-baked given that those charged with the operation of the agency are unsure of the criteria and terms of reference under which they are expected to work.

I ask the Leader to extend the debate to include the whole banking system and the manner in which the banks are demanding the mortgage repayments owed to them. I am aware of a young family who have had their home repossessed. They made an offer to the bank that they would rent the home from it. That was not listened to and they were put out on the side of the road. That is a very sad indictment of the system that has been allowed to develop where young families are becoming homeless on an almost daily basis.

I draw the attention of the Leader to the area of social welfare. The thousands of newly unemployed people who are filling the dole offices around the country are being forced to join long queues and are treated in a disgraceful manner. I appreciate that the staff are overloaded with work, but these people are being sent from Billy to Jack to fill in forms, sent back to their employers who let them go and then back to the dole offices, only to find they might receive no entitlement for months. These are people with young families who have bills to pay and have no income coming into their homes. It is degrading and distressing for the individuals involved and their families. There is major concern about this. I ask the Leader to bring the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to the House to tell us how she proposes to address these long dole queues and give people back some pride instead of having them degraded in such a humiliating fashion in public areas. We need to move on. Let us be positive and give hope to these people.

The Minister stated in the media yesterday that she will send out thousands of letters to young people aged between 18 and 24 who are on the dole, calling them into State offices to assist them by offering them opportunities for retraining and reskilling. I welcome that development but I ask that a positive slant be put on the process. Young people should not be brought in and interrogated or put under further pressure but they should be given hope and assistance through our State agencies and educational bodies. That is the way forward. We must give people back some pride because they are being degraded. I ask the State to step in and I hope the Leader can help in that regard.