More than 101 repossession cases are listed before the Galway Circuit Court for this week alone, revealing Galway to have one of the highest levels of house repossessions in the State.
Independent county councillor James Charity said the banks are now "the busiest court users and most common plaintiffs in the State", with many of the homes being sought for repossession being family homes.
Among the 26 counties of the Republic, Galway is the fifth highest with 101 cases, closely followed by Wicklow at 100. These are only exceeded by Dublin (335 ), Limerick and Cork (146 each ), and Waterford (140 ). More widely, Connacht alone will deal with 324 repossession cases in July, while nationwide 2,644 cases are listed just this month. Cllr Charity has called the figures "simply staggering".
This is despite mortgage arrears levels have fallen by almost a fifth (19 per cent ) in the last year, according to Department of Finance data which puts the number of troubled residential properties at 65,458.
"Despite a new government coming to power earlier this year, repossessions continue apace," said Cllr Charity. "If anything, the volume of such cases has increased despite commitments in the Programme for Government to aim measures at distressed mortgage holders. The Government is failing to act."
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh warned that the number of repossesions is likely to increase in Galway, until a significant effort is made to tackle mortgage distress.
He said the Government's current proposals to tackle the housing crises "offers little solace for the thousands of people in mortgage distress". He added that issues relating to student accommodation, housing for the elderly and people with disabilities, Traveller accommodation and transitioning people out of direct provision "have not been adequately dealt with in the plan either".
