The Sinn Féin candidate for Meath East, Darren O’Rourke, has today called for “real and concrete action to help those in mortgage distress.”
O’Rourke made his comments the day after the government published proposals which would see power being left in the hands of the same banks who have allowed the mortgage crisis to escalate for the last five years.
O’Rourke said:
“Mortgage distress is a huge issue, not least for the people of this constituency who have arguably been one of the worst areas in the state hit with this crisis. Many people in Meath East are commuters who bought their homes during the height of the boom and now find themselves struggling to cope with negative equity and arrears.
“The government proposals published yesterday will be of little comfort to struggling homeowners. The proposals continue to leave the final say on mortgage restructuring with the same banks who allowed this crisis to escalate in the first place. Most worryingly they also allow the banks to repossess family homes.
“There are families out there struggling to put food on the table in order to pay their mortgage. Proposals like these will be of little comfort to them
“Sinn Féin has the right proposals to address the mortgage crisis. These include the establishment of an independent statutory body which would have the power to arbitrate on banks decisions and force restructuring, including write-down, shared equity and other measures.
“The government proposals are simply not good enough. We need real and concrete action on this issue and we need it now.”