Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is important to acknowledge the enormous work that my friend and colleague, Senator Norris, has put into forwarding this Bill. I am delighted to second it and to have been asked to do so. Let us add some context here. What are we talking about? The purpose of this Bill is to provide for the establishment of an industrial and provident society we call the national housing co-operative society. This society would have the mandate and powers to acquire, manage, rent or sell distressed mortgages so that the occupants of houses can move from the status of distressed mortgagor by means of a mortgage to possibly a rent and mortgage. It is important that we get that context right.

Senator Norris mentioned facts and details on this matter. I got an email this morning from a contact who had been in touch with the Central Bank. These are the latest figures, which I will now share with the House. A total of 278 homes were repossessed in the first quarter of this year. We also know that 1,645 legal proceedings have been issued for the repossession of family homes in that first quarter. It is important to quantify some figures around this debate so as to get some sense of its urgency and importance.

I was struck by two simple words used by Senator Norris, namely, "financial terror". I think that brings the message home clearly. We all know friends, members of our family and colleagues who have lived in terror every day as they try to honourably meet their financial commitments to hold and secure a roof over their heads and those of their family and loved ones. That is a noble cause and one which should be supported by everybody in the Houses of the Oireachtas. Everyone has a right to a home. The consequence of doing nothing is that thousands of people will end up on our social housing list when we already have a national housing crisis. It is imperative that the Government steps in through a mechanism like this Bill and tries to give some support to people who genuinely need it.

It is also very important that this not be seen by anybody outside this House as some form of charter for those who can pay but will not do so. It is important that we get this message out. There are people who can pay but choose not to, who do not want to discharge their honourable debt to honourable financial institutions. This is a really important line. We are trying to deal here with vulnerable people in their own family homes. Senator Norris's Bill sets that out very clearly. Since the financial crisis in 2007, the level of home mortgage arrears has reached alarming levels with serious social and economic consequences. An urgent intervention is required to stem these expensive and exceptional circumstances, as well as the expensive litigation involved in taking actions through the courts to effectively evict people from their homes. If people are driven from their homes for inability to pay the mortgage, both the social and economic implications for this country are devastating.

The National Housing Co-operative Bill 2017 seeks to resolve the difficulties facing home owners with mortgage arrears and to find and broker resolutions and solutions to prevent people from being turfed out of their homes by the banks and vulture funds. It is envisaged that the national housing co-operative, when established, will purchase the properties and related debt from the various lending bodies. This will be subject, of course, to a degree of nuance and change and this is where the legislation is perhaps somewhat weak. As Senator Norris has said, however, this Bill is to kick-start the issue and get the debate going. He has indicated that the Bill is open for amendments to make this better legislation. It is incumbent on us as parliamentarians to bring proposals forward and to draw on the expertise and knowledge across all parties and none in order to make this better legislation. That is our job and we should settle for nothing less.

Significant benefits would flow from this Bill. Most people would be able to remain in their homes and would have greater security of tenure. Repossessions would be limited to very exceptional circumstances. I reiterate that those who can but will not pay should get no comfort from this legislation. That is really important.

I will conclude by sharing some more facts. We need to deal with facts and figures if we want to get to the bottom of this issue and put in place meaningful and proper measures such as this Bill attempts to do. I quote from figures released by the Central Bank in June 2017. These figures indicate that the number of mortgage accounts in arrears for principal dwelling houses further fell in the first quarter of 2017. This has to be welcomed. This marks the 15th consecutive quarter of decline. A total of 76,422 accounts were in arrears at the end of March, still a significant number, amounting to a decline of 1.4%. There is a decline then, and we know why that is happening, but the number is still very significant. The number of mortgage accounts classified as restructured by the end of March came to a total of 120,894. That is very telling.

Let us make this personal. We all know neighbours, friends and colleagues who are only paying interest-only mortgages. This is unsustainable and cannot go on. There is a crisis and we need to understand that. The Central Bank figures also mention the number of buy-to-let mortgage accounts in arrears. As of March these amount to 24,500, which is a phenomenal figure.

I point out to the Minister of State that financial terror has reigned over so many people. So many people's lives have been destroyed. So many people were unable to go on living because of this terrible crisis over mortgages and homes. So many people bought their first family home with great expectation and pride for that was to be their family homestead. That has fallen away for so many people. We owe it to them to do something here.

I will conclude by thanking Senator Norris for setting out this Bill and for inviting people to add and detract from it and make it better legislation. For far too long politicians from both of these Houses have belly-ached on the radio and in the media about distressed mortgages and the financial ruin that people have suffered as a result. It is time to speak up and be accountable, to put their words into action and come to this House to support this legislation.