Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That people are in debt and in mortgage debt is not new. It has been going for a number of years. I have been working closely with David Hall in this area on behalf of about 80 families. There has been some improvement for some people.The banks have started to do some good restructures. The number of people in grave difficulty who are close to repossession has been estimated to be between 26,000 and 30,000 families. That is sheer devastation. I support the call made on all sides of this House for us to get together and come up with new solutions to help these people stay in their own homes by whatever means. Let me remind everyone that there are no other houses for them and the State cannot give them houses. We have heard the story about mortgage to rent and rental approaches. Why have they not worked? New solutions need to be found.

I wish to raise another issue. I support the concern expressed by Senator Barrett about the removal of maths and languages as entry requirements in third level colleges. That is a strange move.