Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

As the Leader of the Opposition has said, we are supporting the motion on the basis that this is a very important issue. I deeply regret Senator Hayden's comments at the beginning, because as a member of the previous Seanad, I pioneered this issue in the entire Oireachtas with the establishment of the Prevention of Family Home Repossessions Group and its website www.saveyourhome.ie. Some Members from the Senator's party contacted me for a briefing on the issue today. I can assure her that this is an issue that is most important to those on this side of the House.

In order to reflect a number of the key aspirations and goals of the Prevention of Family Home Repossessions Group, which was established back in March 2009 before any of the groups we read about today, it is our intention to introduce four Bills in the coming months, the first of which will be initiated in this House to show that this party is also the reformist party in the context of the Seanad following on from the very good motion and debate we had on the issue in recent weeks. If Senator Hayden checks the record of the House from the last Seanad, she will see I regard this as the biggest challenge. There can be no more important consideration than the protection of the family and in that context the protection of the family home. It is the single most important challenge for the Government to meet as it was for the previous Government. When the group was established in March 2009, we presented our proposals - which I shall outline briefly in a moment - to the former Minister, the late Brian Lenihan. He followed on by establishing the expert group on mortgage arrears and personal debt chaired by Mr. Hugh Cooney. The extent of its recommendations is disappointing and the legislation we will introduce will go a step further.

We also managed to get cross-party agreement through the then Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service for the group's proposals in trying to give some element of security and protection to the people. Of course there have been codes of conduct, mortgage arrears resolution processes and others, all of which are welcome, and many of the financial institutions have shown some restraint. Having said that nothing exists on a statutory basis to give the kind of protection families need and deserve. I cannot emphasise enough the absolute commitment of each individual from all parties in this House to this issue in the last Seanad. In the last Seanad Senator Healy Eames made some proposals as did others.

In her opening remarks Senator Hayden rightly said she did not wish to be political, in which case she should not be. There is no need to say that Fianna Fáil is connected to developers or anything like that. I, as a person elected to these Houses, began this process, not to steal credit from Senator Hayden, her organisation or her party, but to show my responsibility as a citizen of this country reflecting that this is the most important issue. When the legislation is introduced in coming weeks, I look forward to all Members of this House putting their best foot forward to ensure the legislation passes, not only as the first all-party agreed Bill, but also as the first legislation that gives real protection to the family home and families throughout the country, who, as the Senator has so admirably pointed out, are under so much pressure today.

The core of our proposals and those of the Prevention of Family Home Repossessions Group is effectively to amend the Enforcement of Court Orders Act to prohibit the granting of a court order for the repossession of a primary family residence without: an independent assessment of existing repayment capacity being outlined to the court; independent analysis for the court of the original underwriting and application quality; and a range of alternatives such as those in the code of conduct but put on a statutory basis as well as extending mortgages for up to 20 years. While those are examples of our proposals, there is obviously more in it. As the Leader has pointed out there is absolutely commitment from every Member I have known in these Houses - certainly in the previous Seanad and I hope in this one. I hope we will be in agreement. When the time comes Senator Hayden should put her best foot forward and support the legislation to give the families the support they require.