Ballina councillor Michelle Mulherin says that a key aim of a Fine Gael government will be to support families and businesses in debt trouble.
“We will help families by increasing mortgage interest debt relief for the ‘negative equity generation’, banning penalties on mortgage restructuring, introducing a deferred interest scheme for distressed home owners, using pension savings to ease debt distress, allow strictly regulated negative equity mortgages to allow families to trade homes,” said Cllr Mulherin.
Cllr Mulherin said Fine Gael will also help SMEs by establishing a partial loan guarantee scheme and a micro business start-up fund to get credit to business, and encourage greater venture capital investment in Irish business.
The Mayo county councillor said Fine Gael's overall banking policy to establish a well regulated, competitive, profitable, and privately-owned banking system “follows the failed Fianna Fáil policies that have left the public with a €100 billion bill for the banks”.
Cllr Mulherin says Fine Gael was right on the banks before: “Almost two years ago, we set out an alternative banking policy that would have used the period of stability provided by the guarantee to restructure the banks and, where appropriate, impose losses on the banks’ investors and bondholders.”
