Caít Keane (Fine Gael)

The Government should be commended on publishing a housing policy statement within three months. The Keane report, which was published by the interdepartmental working group on mortgage arrears established by the Government in October last year, is an important part of the Government's continuing effort to tackle the mortgage crisis. The issue cannot be resolved in one day. The report sets out important measures that address the problem of mortgage difficulty. Work is under way to implement key elements of the report, including the reform of personal insolvency legislation.

There is no question that many people are still in great distress as they seek to meet mortgage repayments. The Government is determined to help any person who finds himself or herself in such circumstances. Its priority, as the Minister of State outlined, is to develop and implement schemes to assist those who cannot make their mortgage repayments. The Keane report, which was commissioned by the Government, sets out ten different measures to help people. The new schemes facilitate the reduction of the debt burden to be reduced. A large-scale blanket debt forgiveness programme is not the solution to the problem as the taxpayer would have to pick up a bill of €15 billion. I presume no one wants this outcome when higher taxes are already a reality and there is nothing to be gained from increasing taxes.

Unfortunately , there is no quick fix to the mortgage crisis. The damage caused by years of reckless policies - I am not ashamed to say that - and the creation of a false property bubble by Fianna Fáil led Governments will not be magically undone.