Ministers to speed up measures to help families in arrears

A COMMITTEE of senior Ministers set up to inject more urgency into the Government’s handling of the mortgage crisis has undertaken to bring forward a range of measures to assist families in arrears.

The Cabinet sub-committee chaired by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore held its first meeting on Wednesday, at which Ministers were urged to prioritise the mortgage debt issue.

Mr Gilmore yesterday described the problem as an “Armageddon” for many Irish families and admitted he was “disappointed” at the slower-than-expected rate of progress in dealing with it.

He said 70,000 households were more than 90 days in arrears with mortgage payments.

In an interview with The Irish Times, he said he and Mr Kenny were “absolutely at one” in their frustration at the rate of progress on the problem and were determined to drive the issue as quickly as possible.

Mr Gilmore said the over-riding principle behind the measures planned was retention of the family home.

“The loss of the home is the Armageddon for families. It’s not just the issue of housing and accommodation. When children have to change school [for example], there is the embarrassment and shame that goes with it,” he said.

The major policy planks are the Personal Insolvency Bill and implementing the major recommendations of the Keane report into mortgage arrears, published last year.

Heads of the Bill have been published and the Government has told the EU/IMF troika that the full Bill will be published by the end of April, with a view to having it enacted before the summer recess.

Mr Gilmore also welcomed the public policy statement this week by Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan. He said Mr Honohan had in effect endorsed the Government’s position that repossession of family homes should be avoided if possible, and also had backed its legislative and policy approach.

“We are not going to shift our focus. I have always said that more than anything else, even more than losing jobs, losing the home is a disaster,” said the Tánaiste.

“We have a very big mortgage problem that has to be addressed. It’s an area that I was disappointed that we did not make more progress We will make more progress on it now.”

Eight Ministers attended Wednesday’s meeting: the Taoiseach; Tánaiste; Minister for Finance Michael Noonan; Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin; Minister for Environment Phil Hogan; Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton; Minister for Justice Alan Shatter; and Minister of State for Housing Jan O’Sullivan.

Mr Kenny and Mr Gilmore addressed colleagues. They said they wanted a rapid and co-ordinated response. The Department of Finance also delivered a briefing, which revealed the number of new cases was abating a little. The sub-committee is to convene again before the end of March.

Mr Gilmore said the sub-committee would co-ordinate the work of five Government departments and put a framework in place to help families facing major arrears difficulties.

“People in distress need to talk to their banks and their financial institutions. What this will do is strengthen their hand so they are not alone and there is a framework in place. We want banks to co-operate with mortgage holders.”

He said the recession would not last forever and people would get back to work and into business.

A senior Government source summarised the cause of the delay: “There are five Government departments involved. The system does not do these things very well. It is very frustrating.”

In a separate development yesterday, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said it may still be possible for the Government to win EU agreement to delay a €3.1 billion bank debt due within days.

Noonan on bank payment: BusinessThisWeek