Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

On foot of some of the comments that have been made here today, I reiterate my request to the Leader to arrange a debate with the Minister for Finance on the banking sector because a number of issues have been raised in the House. There has also been a lot of transactions in the public domain. For example, Hibernia REIT has announced that it will buy part of the Ulster Bank's portfolio, at a very significant discount, that includes a large body of residential property. We all know that there is a residential shortage in this country. Therefore, I would like to see a lot more transparency on what is happening to the loan books of financial institutions, particularly the ones that the people of Ireland have bailed out in one way or another.

I wish to raise an issue related to mortgage arrears directly with the Minister for Finance. I refer to the fact that there has been an increase in the number of repossessions. The increase is particularly happening in urban Ireland, and in the Dublin region in particular. There is a real issue for people who are in a marital breakdown situation. I refer to people who are in the process of a marital breakdown or have experienced marital breakdown. The bank will not deal with them as individuals but insists on dealing with them as a couple. That effectively means that the mortgage arrears resolution process cannot and does not work. I do not believe that we can ever more forward to resolve the mortgage arrears situation unless we deal with the reality of family breakdown. I would like to raise the matter directly with the Minister for Finance.