Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I am human. The economic downturn has left an increasing number of people in financial difficulty. Self-employed friends of mine who had three, four or 12 people working for them are struggling to find sufficient work for themselves. According to the Combat Poverty Agency, the ratio of personal debt to disposable income has increased from 48% in 1995 to 170% this year. As I stated, the money advice and budgeting service provides a worthwhile service. Money-lending gangsters are, however, parading the streets of our cities, towns and villages. I have been contacted by people who have been threatened and intimidated by them. We must collectively and without recourse to party politics send a message to these gangsters that they have no place in society. We want to develop our communities and promote values for our children that encourage family life and home ownership. Without such values, society will break down.

The debt collection sector must be regulated. What is to prevent me or Senator MacSharry from setting up a debt collection agency tomorrow morning and collecting money in Cork or Sligo at exorbitant interest rates? Private debt collectors are hijacking the role of the credit unions and MABS. As a former member of the supervisory committee of my local credit union in Bishopstown, I understand the importance of the credit union movement and the great work it does. I appeal to those with debt problems to contact their local credit union or MABS office to negotiate a plan for resolving their problem. The Judiciary must also pause for reflection. It should facilitate plans which would enable people to pay back specified amounts each week. This is a matter involving people as opposed to commodities.

We can talk about home ownership, the market value of a loan, borrowers and so on and use all kinds of fancy jargon. I love the term "negative equity". If I had been wise, I would have bought a house 20 years ago. When I was in college playing hurling and drinking pints, friends of mine were buying houses and now own four or five rental properties. While I do not know if they are happy, I am happy even though I have only one house and can hardly manage it. We must keep things in perspective.

I believe passionately in people. The level of credit card debt is frightening. The banking sector and credit card companies should consider introducing a moratorium on the interest paid on credit card debts by those who are genuinely struggling to pay rather than those who would seek to hoodwink.

As Senator MacSharry will acknowledge, I have not been overtly party political in my contribution. I cringed, however, when I read the amendment. The renewed programme for Government is a missed opportunity and a wasteland of promises. One line in the amendment epitomises all that is wrong today. It reads: "notes that activity in the property market has remained low, making it very difficult to assess realistic price levels, so that any estimate of how many are in negative equity, or how long the position is likely to last is largely speculative". People are in debt and in some cases on the brink. We know property values have declined because we read constantly in the financial sections of the newspapers about the rate of decline in the property market. We also know that people have lost income, have been placed on a four-day week or lost their jobs. It is incorrect, therefore, to argue that it is not possible to make an assessment. I appeal to the Senators on the Government side, who are decent human beings, to support the motion and set aside their amendment in the interests of those who are genuinely struggling.