Aideen Hayden (Labour)

Over the course of this debate, I expect we will hear similar proposals coming from both sides of the House. That is as it should be, because this is a national crisis facing us and we are all seeking the same types of solution.

We are all aware of the different comments in the media and so on relating to the debt crisis. One of them comes from people who already own their own homes. They would say that in their day, they saved up and sat on orange boxes until they had enough money, and that they cannot understand why people did not take their time and wait until they had enough money to buy their own homes. It is important to point out that people who bought their home in Ireland 25 years ago - perhaps even 15 years ago - were able to do that at a price three times their income, with Government benefits such as the tenant purchase scheme, first-time buyer's grant, stamp duty and mortgage interest tax reliefs to the extent that they were subsidised to almost 50% of the entire purchase price. It is important to bear that in mind when we are looking at those today who represent one generation of people dealing with this particular crisis and for whom the cost of their home was at least eight to 12 times their annual salary. When we talk about taxpayers' money and so on, we need to be aware that taxpayers' money has been firmly engaged in the home ownership market for many years before we got to where we are today.

We should acknowledge that Mr. Keane has said that this report is not the final word, but rather a step along the road, and as such I welcome it. It is fundamentally flawed in that it does not deal with the buy-to-let market. Allied Irish Banks acknowledged that up to 20% of its buy-to-let mortgage book is impaired, which means that it is more impaired than the domestic loan book. Unless we take into account that aspect of this crisis, I do not believe we will come forward with proposals that will actually go to the root of the problem in the Irish housing market. We need to have a robust examination of the buy-to-let mortgage books of all the lenders before we can really know where we are.

The Keane report mentions the need for insolvency legislation, and we are all agreed that this is absolutely critical and that we need to move with it as quickly as possible. I welcome the recommendation in the report on independent advocacy. However, I do not think that is even remotely close enough to what is required. Any solution that puts banks at the centre of this difficulty will be unacceptable to the people of Ireland. In my opinion, we need a three-tiered system. We should have independent advocacy. We need to have a non-judicial debt settlement process. We need to have the banks coming into that non-judicial debt settlement process as equals with the borrower, who is represented by an independent, fully qualified able advocate. Only when we have that type of a system can we move forward.

There are two proposals in the Keane report on mortgage to rent schemes, one of which relates to the voluntary housing associations and one of which relates to the leasing to local authorities of distressed mortgaged homes. The second proposal is entirely unacceptable. It leaves the legal title with the bank and it is entirely repugnant to the people of Ireland that they will pay taxes for repossessed homes. I know there are difficulties with the troika, but I see no reason local authorities could not create a special purpose vehicle in which they can take legal ownership of distressed homes. The tenants of those properties, as they would become, could have all of the benefits of social tenancy, including the right to tenant purchase of their homes and the right to incremental purchase. We have to give hope to those whose homes are repossessed. We cannot leave them sitting there forever in homes they once owned. The day they are forced to lose them, they must know they will be able to recapture their ownership.

My final point concerns split mortgages. To be honest, I was disappointed with the Keane report. It was almost like an apologist for the banking sector in not allowing the interest on the parked portion of the mortgage to be forgiven. That is unbelievable and outrageous. One cannot talk about split ownership. That is unacceptable.