Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Shatter. He made the point that one of the priorities of the Government was to deal with the problem of unsustainable mortgage debt. As somebody who has been working in this field for a long time I am well aware of the previous attempts made to try to deal with the situation very unsatisfactorily. Measures to reform and modernise the law relating to bankruptcy and insolvency are critical in removing us from the current impasse we are at in regard to resolving the mortgage debt situation.

I have worked in this area and as a personal solicitor for many years and I am more than aware, as many of us are, of the dreadful position in Ireland today of those facing mortgage arrears.

Let us be real about it, they are facing mortgage arrears because of the collapse in the housing market and the economy. This is the bottom line.