ORDERS FOR home repossessions more than doubled in the first half of this year on the back of increasing mortgage interest rates, Labour finance spokeswoman Joan Burton has said.
Figures released by the Court Service of Ireland yesterday show the total number of possession orders issued by the High Court was 108 last year, 59 of which occurred in the first six months, she said.
There has already been a significant increase in the number of repossessions this year, with 126 such orders issued to date.
The number of summonses issued in which home possession was the principal cause of action, has also increased. In the first six months of this year, 254 such summonses were issued, compared to 187 in 2008.
Earlier this week, Irish Banking Federation chief executive Pat Farrell told an Oireachtas Committee that there were just 50 repossessions among the group last year.
A spokesman for the federation said the discrepancy arose because the federation does not represent subprime mortgage lenders.
