The establishment of an expert committee on indebtedness highlights the Government’s commitment to helping those struggling with financial pressures, according to Fianna Fáil TD and Minister for Labour Affairs Dara Calleary.
“This new committee will look at both mortgage and non mortgage debt and the expert panel includes representatives with expertise from a wide variety of sectors including consumer groups, FLAC, the Labour Relations Court, the ESRI and the banking sector,” according to Minister Calleary.
“This announcement follows our commitment in the Revised Programme for Government to examine flexible and creative solutions to tackle personal debt. The options to be considered by the expert group include reduced rates, longer maturity dates, rolling-up of outstanding interest, bank taking equity in the house and bank taking ownership and leasing back the property to the resident with rent payments coming off the loan.”
The Government currently provides support for payment of mortgages for 15,000 families under the Mortgage Interest Supplement Scheme. In Budget 2010 Finance Minister Brian Lenihan refocused mortgage interest relief on those who bought their homes at the peak of the market by extending mortgage interest relief due to expire in 2010 up to the end of 2017.
“The Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears was amended earlier this month so now lenders must wait 12 months from the time arrears first arise before applying to the courts to commence repossession proceedings. This establishment of this expert panel is another positive towards helping our national recovery,” concluded Minister Calleary.
