Siptu president calls for Government action on mortgage arrears
Jack O'Connor, general president of trade union Siptu, said the continuing rise of numbers who cannot make their mortgage repayments needed urgent and decisive action from the Government.
Central Bank figures released today showed that more than 55,000 mortgages are now in arrears for more than three months.
“As a first step it should declare clearly and unequivocally that no-one who is doing their best to make payments will ever lose their home,” he said.
Mr O’Connor said the union was not backing any particular approach to resolve the crisis, but believed a suggestion to convert the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs) into a personal debt management agency was a good concept.
Under the proposal being considered by Government, Mabs would have legal powers to compel banks to strike a resolution with families making an honest effort to repay their debts.
“The emphasis should be on alleviating the misery and social damage which has been caused over the past three years,” said Mr O’Connor.
“We all have a duty as citizens to help those in serious difficulty.
“Demonising people as imprudent when they were being advised at the time that buying a home was the prudent thing to do by those who were supposed to know is unjust and achieves nothing.
“Some of those lecturing families in difficulty on their imprudence were among the cheerleaders for the boom town rats.”
