THE CHAIRMAN of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has warned the Republic is facing repossession “disaster” if steps are not taken to aid homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages.
“The Master of the High Court has confirmed that 600 new cases of repossessions have come before the courts in just one month . . . the banks are now willing to move on repossessions following the Nama bailout,” Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen said yesterday.
“This is happening despite the fact that the IMF has confirmed that Irish banks now have sufficient financial resources to help the most distressed homeowners restructure their debts to avoid repossession.
“With so many people struggling to keep up with mortgage payments it is vital that action is taken now to force the banks to make repossession the absolute last resort; if this does not happen we could be facing a repossession disaster in this country which could have major implications for any fragile, economic recovery.”
Last week, it emerged 600 new cases for repossession of homes have come into the High Court Master’s list since last month.
Felix O’Regan of the Irish Banking Federation said steps were being taken “day by day, week by week” to tackle mortgage arrears, with a resulting decline in the official numbers of repossessions and such cases going before the courts.
Mr O’Regan said the Courts Service had confirmed the figure of 600 repossessions included “a host of other things,” including cases that have not yet gone to trial.
He said the most recent figures given showed 229 new repossession cases for the first half of this year, compared to 493 for the first six months of 2009, adding that all cases going before the courts did not end in repossession.
Earlier this month, the Government approved new measures to help those struggling to pay their mortgages.
A new five-step system allowing homeowners with arrears to agree new repayment terms with banks and building societies is to be set up.
