Schemes to encourage elderly people to part with some of the equity in their homes were immoral, the leader of the House, Mrs Mary O'Rourke said.
Those behind such schemes were preying on elderly people by promoting such ideas as "let's go to Bermuda on our holidays, and let's have a glass of wine together like we always have had. The next thing is they have your house got. It's not quite as precipitous as that, but almost."
She was reacting to concerns expressed by Mr David Norris (Ind), who said he had been concerned about advertisements for shared home investment plans. People over 70 years of age were being urged to surrender a significant part of the equity of their homes in return for a cash grant. He believed there should be a health warning with such advice.