Aideen Hayden (Labour)

I note what the Acting Chairman is saying about the time for this debate. I will speed through it as quickly as I possibly can.

Reports over the last number of weeks indicate that the difficulties faced by Irish homeowners are increasing at a rapid rate. By the end of 2010, more than 200,000 homeowners were in negative equity, with over 40% of homeowners holding a mortgage that was in negative equity. The numbers of homeowners in negative equity continues to rise as house prices fall. The rating agency Moody's estimates that Irish house prices fell by 40% between September 2007 and March 2011, while other commentators estimate the price fall to be even greater. The housing market is currently non-existent, with further price falls expected before the market returns to stability. Indeed, the Irish Mortgage Corporation stated yesterday that as few as 11,000 mortgages are likely to be loaned this year, a figure last seen in the early 1970s.

As chair of the Threshold housing organisation I am only too well aware of the cost in human misery that ordinary families are facing today - families who never thought they would face the trouble they now face. Last year alone, Threshold helped more than 22,000 households in difficulty. This recession has gone on for four years now. Family savings have been exhausted trying to outrun the recession and keep family homes from repossession. In particular, Threshold has warned that the current situation is leading to a rise in homelessness and extreme distress for families and their children.

With respect to my colleague, it is easy to state once again that the cause of this was Fianna Fáil's policy of putting the interests of big developers and the banks ahead of ordinary families who were just trying to buy a family home. However, I hope today's debate will focus on constructive proposals to help the thousands of Irish homeowners who are in extreme distress and facing the loss of their homes - the victims of the overheating of the Irish property market - rather than on recriminations between parties for political gain.