Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

Following on what Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill and others in the House have said, I want to refer to mortgage arrears. In three weeks it will be almost one year since we introduced the Family Home Bill in the House. A number of other Bills were introduced in the Dáil specifically to provide solutions to the mortgage arrears problem. The Governor of the Central Bank and countless other credible authorities have highlighted the urgent need to tackle this crisis, yet we encounter delay after delay. The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Brian Hayes, a good operator in the past in this House and elsewhere, had egg on his face when in the House for the most recent debate. He was effectively apologising for the inaction. This morning we heard on the national airwaves the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, wondering whether mortgage debt would even be included in the personal insolvency Bill. The delays, far from being constitutional and in the interests of those suffering throughout the country, seem to be in the interests of the banks and none other. I support the view that we need urgent action in this regard and would like to see the issue addressed.

On a separate but related issue in the context of the economy, I join Senator Diarmuid Wilson in asking where the joined-up thinking is in Departments. The Senator has made the important point that the barracks in Longford are being sold by the Government and bought by a local authority. In Sligo, my area, the local authority which is some €70 million in debt is buying for almost €500,000 the recently closed Teagasc offices. We are robbing Peter to pay Paul from individual entities under the authority of the State. The local authority which is in debt is spending €500,000 of the people's money to buy an office, the need for which is questionable in this day and age when resources are so scarce. There is an urgent need to deal with the general management of the Government finances when we see these transactions taking place. There is no issue more urgent than this and I can speak on behalf of both sides of the House. For some three years we have brought forward legislative proposals. If the Government's personal insolvency Bill is not ready, it should embrace the real solutions brought forward, either through the Family Home Bill introduced in this House or the Debt Settlement and Mortgage Resolution Office Bill introduced in the other House.