housing-crisisPRESS RELEASE:

Independent candidate Diarmaid Ó Cadhla is calling for immediate State intervention to solve the mortgage crisis in Ireland.

The crisis in domestic mortgages was raised by Mr. Ó Cadhla as far back as November 2010 when he asked: “Should troubles mortgage holders stop paying the Banks?”

Statistics from the Central Bank show that there were over 65,000 mortgages in long-term arrears at the end of September last, all of these are facing possible eviction.

In early 2015 the Central Bank reported that at least 16,683 households can expect home repossession by the end of 2016, with mortgage restructuring needed for a further 46,500 households.

Ó Cadhla has said “instead of resolving the mortgage crisis the present Government has worsened the situation by attempting to lump extra financial pressures on households with the introduction of Water Charges and the Property Tax.”

He said: “If families can’t afford to pay their mortgage, how can they find huge sums of money to pay additional household charges? It defies logic.”

Ó Cadhla has said that on top of this there is a “housing crisis”, and “evicting families only fuels the problem. With 1,500 children currently living in temporary State accommodation, how does evicting more families and more children solve or address the housing crisis in any way?”

Complaints received by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive have highlighted the extreme conditions facing homeless families, prompting many to avoid emergency accommodation altogether due to their being unsafe.

Ó Cadhla is calling for the immediate halt to all evictions currently before the courts, and that a State programme be setup where the State takes over distressed mortgages.

Ó Cadhla says: “how the State takes-over domestic mortgages should reflect the fact the most of the Banks involved would now be closed, only that the Irish people bailed them out. Our state should defend citizens and not allow them to be preyed upon by Banks or other private interests.”

Ó Cadhla thinks it is not unreasonable to look at 50% write-down on distressed loans when taking them from the Banks.  He suggested that homeowners might manage reduced debt or optionally to convert some properties into social housing so that families can avoid eviction.

“Whether it is debt write-down, debt write-off, rent-to-buy, or the rent-to-let, there are dozens of potential long term solutions to the mortgage crisis, but these solutions can only be decided by the people and not private Banks working for self-interest.”

Diarmaid Ó Cadhla has said that this is about democracy and the empowerment of people, and that the national interests of the nation cannot be substituted for banking profits.

ENDS

Additional Information:

Supported by: An Chomhdháil Phobail | The People’s Convention (CPPC)

Facebook Twitter Youtube