Madam, – Daniel Lowry called for people power in relation to a Nama for homeowners (March 15th). I have been on a similar bandwagon for over a year now. I wrote to all members of Dáil Éireann asking them for help in relation to my overbearing mortgage. Neither Bank of Ireland nor Allied Irish Bank would allow me to switch my mortgage so that I could avail of lower interest rates.
I received a letter from the Minister of Finance six months after writing to him. His response was that he could not get involved with what the banks would or would not loan to customers. What a hilarious response, considering what I as a taxpayer have had to sacrifice.
After recent pay cuts, pension and income levies my mortgage is now equivalent to my salary. I am ready, Mr Lowry, to turn anger into action. Where do I sign up? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Daniel Lowry’s suggestion (March 15th) that a Nama be set up for home owners caught by negative equity is a timely one and merits consideration. A meaningful gesture should be made towards those who are burdened with inflated mortgages, deflated salaries (or none) and negative equity homes as a direct result of the greed of developers and the complicity of the banks.
This “bank” should realistically revalue the homes and reduce mortgages accordingly for families. To pay for this, an Irresponsibility Levy (IL) should be placed on the banks, a Cosy Cartel (CC) levy on developers and estate agents and pending the commission of inquiry a further levy could be placed on all others who contributed to the economic disaster that is facing the country.
This would show real republicanism where all members are seen to contribute to the rebuilding of society and the economy. I suggest that the new entity be called Nema, Negative Equity Mutual Association. – Yours, etc,