Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tá áthas orm bheith anseo le labhairt ar an mBille seo. Táim ag cur fáilte roimh an mBille freisin, maraon le gach duine eile, ach aontaím le go leor atá á rá. Ní aontaím le gach rud atá á rá aige ach aontaím le go leor atá á rá ag an Seanadóir Ó Clochartaigh.

It is four years almost to the day since Senator MacSharry and I brought forward a family home protection Bill. We were told at that time that the Government was about to solve the mortgage crisis. In fairness, Senator Hayden wished us well with the Bill and did not bitterly oppose it, as some other people did; she recognised the problem. Essentially, nothing was done. The Government then introduced the Personal Insolvency Bill the following year. The then Minister, Deputy Shatter, is on the record as stating that there is no bank veto. The Taoiseach stated on the record of the Dáil that there is no bank veto. The Minister for Finance stated on the record of the Dáil that there is no bank veto. They were telling lies because it was as clear as day that there was a bank veto. I identified it in my contribution here in the Seanad in 2012, as did many other colleagues, because it was obvious that the Bill imposed a bank veto.

What hardship, stress and sleepless nights have been endured in the past few years, which could have been resolved if the amendments to the Bill that was put forward in the Dáil were made part of the original legislation? What stress could have been avoided in recent years if the then Minister, Deputy Shatter, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance had admitted there was a bank veto? That has been one of the key issues in recent years and the fact that the veto is now effectively gone, although perhaps not entirely, means there is the threat that it will impact on the banks. I believe this will have a major impact, and it is already having a major impact in terms of people dealing with banks in regard to their mortgages that are in arrears. I can see that in the correspondence issuing from banks in recent weeks to those people who are in distress. We had been told there was always a threat of bankruptcy, and that that would bring the banks to the table. That did not work, but if the banks do not have the controlling power, which they had in full in the original legislation, there is an incentive for the banks to do a deal because the person can go before the courts. While concerns have been raised about court costs and legal expenses, I would hope that a way will be found to get these people the relief they need, particularly as the Bill mentions - there was very little mention of it previously - preventing the loss of a home or similar language to that.

This will have a huge impact. So far this month in County Meath, there are 200 cases on the repossession lists. There is only a fraction of that number on the personal insolvency lists. I hope the figure for the personal insolvency lists, which I assume these cases will go on, will greatly increase and that the repossession lists might reduce. They have to reduce. Tens of thousands of people are in serious difficulties with their mortgages. We have to keep them in their family homes for the sake of society.

I make an appeal to the banks, and to the Government. There are many empty houses that probably should be repossessed but nobody seems to know anything about them. They are lying empty. We have all seen them in various areas. Can the banks not do an audit of the houses that are not occupied by families or individuals and target those people? I am talking about somebody who has lost interest in a house, does not live in it and where the garden has become overgrown and so on. Those houses should be taken back, put into the housing supply market and given to families on the housing list or to those who may wish to buy them. That will get the market going again because I do not see the banks adopting a strategic approach to that. They urgently need to do that.

I ask the Minister about the mortgage to rent scheme.What has happened on that? The announcement was made in May and we have this legislation over two months later. As far as I can see, nothing much has changed on the mortgage-to-rent scheme. One can have all the thresholds one wants and all the ways of doing things, but that scheme is stymied due to a lack of cash. It is also stymied by the fact that the banks had control over whether somebody got onto the mortgage-to-rent scheme. Perhaps the Minister of State will tell me something different, but it is not my understanding that the system has been changed. I wonder how many mortgage-to-rent applications have been accelerated or gone through since the announcement, and I suspect none have.