Crowe Calls For Action On Morgage Debt Timebomb
Dublin South West TD Seán Crowe has said that evictions and home repossessions should not become commonplace practices in post Celtic Tiger Ireland and should always be used as a mechanism of last resort. Describing morgage debt as a timebomb he called for action to be taken by Government and the banks
Crowe made his remarks following a call by Davy Stockbrokers for banks to repossess more houses in situations where loans cannot to be repaid and said that the clock is ticking on the morgage debt timebomb.
Deputy Seán Crowe said:
“Sinn Féin is opposed to people being evicted from their family homes particularly if the homeowner has made legitimate attempts to pay their debts and has engaged with whatever financial institution they hold their mortgage with. Where a homeowner is no longer in a financial position to ever repay their mortgage then some leeway and flexability needs to be shown to those in debt
“Financial Institutes and lenders need to ‘step up to the plate’ and take responsibility for the agreements they entered into with people. They need to recognise that debt resolution processes, as outlined by groups like FLAC, must take place. This would in the long term be in best interest of all parties involved. Some form of restructuring, including a write down, will also have to be considered for those struggling and trying to balance mounting debt.
“Morally and economically we have to ensure that eviction and repossession is only ever used as a mechanism of last resort.
“Surely we cannot as a society allow a situation to develop where people are having their homes taken from them by the same banks who by their reckless lending contributed to the dire economic circumstances of the country.
“The clock is ticking and State must act on its morgage debt timebomb.
“The debt process needs to take place independently in order to ensure that we do not have families put out of their homes or being put through protracted and costly court proceedings.
“Eviction and its dire consequences for families and indviduals may be the preferred option for some in Davy Stockbrokers but unfortunatly it is an increasingly likely problem facinga huge amount of homeowners.”
