Dublin South West representative Seán Crowe TD has said that the  government  is taking the side of the Banks against distressed borrowers who are  struggling to pay their mortgage. The Tallaght based TD said his office was inundated with inquiries from constituents who are finding it impossible to make ends meet and pay their mortgage on their home. Figures released this week show that almost one in four mortgages are now in distress.

Deputy Seán Crowe  said;

“Figures released this show that a whopping  one in four mortgages are now in distress.

“This reflects what I am coming across in my office and constituency work as a TD.

“Distressed morgage holders are desperately looking for answers and advice on how to hold onto their homes and find a pathway out of this crisis.

“Behind these figures are individuals and families who worked  hard  throughout their working lives to save for a roof over their heads so that some time in the far distant future, they could call it their own.

“Borrowers were encouraged and cajoled by the banks and government politicians to take bigger and ‘better’ loans.

“Their hard earned taxes then funded the bailing out of these same banks when the collapse came.

“Many of these distressed borrowers lost their jobs as a result of the financial crisis created and contributed by the reckless lending policies of these same banks.

“Tens of thousands of them are now in hock to the banks and the government  is now, also now ganging up on them.

“This isn’t fair or morally right.

“The Land and Conveyancing Bill, currently making its way through the Dáil, will make it far easier for the banks to repossess peoples homes.  The Central Bank are also planning next week to introduce changes to the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears.

 “In my opinion this will undermine and weaken the hands of struggling homeowners in dealing with the banks.

“The government has to start standing up for the citizens caught up in this crisis, particularly the  tens of thousands of struggling mortgage holders who are at risk of losing their homes.

“We need to see sustainable solutions including debt write downs where necessary with an independent mortgage resolution board to impose these solutions on the banks when needed.

“Ultimately the government needs to stop siding with the banks and the Troika on this issue and start coming up with workable solutions for struggling mortgage holders to enable them to hold onto their homes.”