Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have some advice for Senator Norris in respect of his property. I would advise him to telephone an estate agent. Many estate agents in Donegal have said to me that people should contact them and there would be no fee. Most local estate agents would be amenable to give a fairly accurate valuation of one's property for free. One should do that if one considered the valuation was too high or too low.

Senator MacSharry raised the issue of repossessions. There is much emotion when people talk about repossessions. There are many properties in the buy-to-let market that are ready for repossession. An argument against that is that an already depressed market would be flooded with properties. In many areas where buy-to-let properties would be repossessed, they would go back into the market. It would not make a difference to that market but where they are repossessed in cities or large urban areas where there is a demand, it would work. People have to separate the buy-to-letrepossessions from the family home repossessions. In the 1980s and 1990s more repossessions of family homes took place than now which was very stressful. A repossession will take place only as a last resort. There has not been a tradition of repossession because people regard the family home as their castle, and rightly so. I hope the Government will make that distinction between buy-to-let properties and the family home. I have been told that certain buy-to-let landlords have not made payments for three years but are still collecting the rent. That is not good for anyone.