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Home repossessions have gone through the roof in Ireland in the last year

Repossessions of residential properties in Ireland for the first nine months of 2015 were up a whopping 80% from all of 2014 put together.

shutterstock_200688647 Shutterstock / Pakhnyushchy Shutterstock / Pakhnyushchy / Pakhnyushchy

THE NUMBER OF houses repossessed by mortgage-lenders in Ireland exploded in 2015.

An increase of 80% was seen in repossessions of primary dwelling homes (PDHs) on over the first nine months of last year compared with 2014 as a whole.

In total, 564 homes were repossessed up until the end of September 2015.

313 homes were repossessed in total over the course of 2014.

Such repossessions are actioned by way of a court order. These statistics are taken directly from official Central Bank figures for the first three quarters of 2015.

central bank Central Bank Central Bank

Click here to view a larger image

Other forms of repossession noted in the statistics are those of buy-to-let properties, together with homes that have been voluntarily surrendered or abandoned.

With the homeless rate in Ireland similarly ballooning in recent times, Pat Doyle, CEO of the Peter McVerry Trust has expressed his concern that the spiralling rates of repossessions could be set to make the homeless figures even worse.

“The mortgage arrears issue is likely to provide the next large wave of people into homelessness,” Doyle said.

The number of buy to let properties in arrears remains over 30,000 and we know financial institutions are evicting sitting tenants to secure vacant possession.
Many of those tenants will have nowhere to go but into homeless services while the unit they once rented will likely sit empty for a long period of time until the banks see fit to put it on the market.

Read: There are now over 1,500 homeless children living in emergency accommodation in Dublin

Read: Woman taken to hospital after being struck on head by election poster

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153 Comments
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    Mute Shakka1244
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:37 PM

    And then imagine what will happen when the ECB rate goes up by a couple of %

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    Mute RTibe
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:38 PM

    Good point Shakka. I think a lot of us live in daily fear of the inevitable rise, it’s like a ticking timebomb :(

    99
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    Mute Garwig
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:37 PM

    Sssssssshhhhhhhh….thst doesn’t fit with the recovery mantra.

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    Mute HelloGoogleTracking!
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:27 PM

    That will be time bomb number two…..

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    Mute Patlyndo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 10:07 PM

    It doesn’t Garwig you are right.

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    Mute Jax Maxwel
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:24 PM

    Keep the recovery going!

    161
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    Mute Josephine Sweeney
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:30 PM

    Funny that how homelessness has gone through the roof too

    139
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    Mute Peadar Ó Gréacháin
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:31 PM

    Where is the FG Monkey, on this one.

    129
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    Mute shane o malley
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:40 PM

    This is not true,,lab and f/g told us their debt resolution is working and they both told us they have homeless well under control,,neither labour or fine gael would ever mislead the electorate,,,would they,,, ??

    113
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    Mute Super Ted
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:51 PM

    “Stability” and “Recovery” isn’t being felt by the whingers. As Enda likes to regularly reminds us, “Politics is about people” and it seems the people are not being grateful enough. We are all deluded, the recovery is being felt everywhere but the whingers will never be happy no matter how fantastic a job Enda does. Some people will never understand the greatness of our leader because they are pre-occupied with whinging about the little things like home repossessions, homelessness etc.

    85
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    Mute Seán O'Ceallaghan
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:56 PM

    Houses people should’ve never bought with money they didn’t have to pay for mortgages they never should’ve signed for. Irish people are great for blaming other people for their own problems. No one forced you to sign.

    67
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    Mute Tony Skillington
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:57 PM

    Keep the cover up going…

    63
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    Mute Al Ca
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:07 PM

    Hey Seán…..nearly everyone buys houses with money they don’t have……it’s called a mortgage.

    95
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    Mute Emmet Kilbride
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:15 PM

    Stop being ungrateful whingers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    PLease dont vote them or LAB/RNU back in.

    48
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    Mute Seán O'Ceallaghan
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:21 PM

    Hey Duffman, What should happen when you don’t pay a loan back? If houses weren’t repossessed why would anyone pay it? It’s a written agreement in good faith?

    31
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    Mute RTibe
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:34 PM

    Sean, people bought houses in the boom as they DID have money to pay the mortgage due to having decent jobs and were simply buying a family home. Thanks to FF screwing the country up for 20 years, many lost their job or took massive paycuts and are now been bled dry with tax after tax while trying to keep up with these mortgages. Were you psychic in 2007? Because the rest of us weren’t

    53
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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:36 PM

    Leaving aside the arguments about what should have been and where the fault lies, this is impacting on everyone. More people are being forced back into the rental market at a time when rented properties are scarce. This is pushing the cost of rent up to an unaffordable level. The house I currently occupy is sale agreed. I have less than a month to find somewhere new. Thanks to more people looking for a new place to rent, my next place to rent will be approximately 80% more expensive. This is on top of all the new taxes and charges. My wages haven’t changed in several years. I didn’t take out a mortgage, but I’m still being penalised. And so are many others.

    48
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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:43 PM

    Sean
    What happened when the people in Anglo didnt pay their loans back?

    42
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    Mute Timmay Timeo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:54 PM

    Keep the Asset Recovery going , now I see what they meant

    28
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    Mute Stephen Brady
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:02 PM

    Sean the banks have a huge responsibility. When we bought our first house they couldn’t give us enough money. Do you want more for refurbishments new car holiday? Credit was no problem. They loaned money recklessly despite rules forbidding it. It was hard to resist when the guy lending is supposed to be a pro and he is telling you it’s ok to have an extra 30% on top.

    26
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    Mute Bill Madden
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:16 PM

    @ Sean o callana. ….you are not suppose to mention this……what part of “your home is at risk if you fail to keep up repayments” did people ignore, because as we all know property prices will always go up!!!!, so we can flip in a few years and make a killing. So let’s Q up at dawn and gazump the neighbours by ten grand!

    15
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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:23 PM

    Bill maybe you can answer me…
    What happened when the people in Anglo didnt pay their loans back?

    23
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    Mute William Boyd
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:24 PM

    Have you been living in a cave for the last 6 year of your ;life?, the government have relentlessly hit take home pay??, get a grip guy these people did’nt ask for this, its their fault yeah?

    25
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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:28 PM

    Why did Fine Gael and Fianna Fail pay off the debts of the banks and the gamblers and turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to their citizens who are being made homeless?

    27
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    Mute Bill Madden
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:30 PM

    @ Sean South….it went bust! Like AIB and ALMOST BOI etc

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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:33 PM

    Yes but the cost was put on us. why should we help the banks and not our own citizens?

    23
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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:36 PM

    In a capitalist system boom and bust are part of the game only in this case of the banks debts were paid by the people of this county. In a natural capitalist environment the banks would have went to the wall and the shareholders should have lost their money but the debt was privatised.

    18
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    Mute Bill Madden
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:37 PM

    @ Sean South, personally I think Government had little choice thanks to the ECB and the FED. From what I gather the “gamblers” were stunned to find that they getting their money back, we had to put up with some crap for the past number of years, but we could be like Greece!

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    Mute Mr. Hoffman
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:41 PM

    Stephen Brady – you’re talking to people who were in the same situation during the boom but said no thanks to taking out too much debt. You MUST take personal responsibility for what you sign/agree to, and when I was offered huge amounts, I kept it within my means.

    If you took the big money and got the spoils, you either need to pay or give back the goodies you bought. Sorry – it’s just reality. Hopefully next time you’ll know to be more modest and only borrow what you need, not adding a new car, holiday, whatever to your mortgage.

    21
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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:45 PM

    Fine Gael were terrible in the negociations and I believe they could have gotten a better deal.

    18
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    Mute Tom Kelly
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:58 PM

    Sean, you do realise Irish people hate the words “personal responsibility”.

    21
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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:03 PM

    Tom we have taken personal responsibility for 64 billion worth of debt. If you gamble you lose. Thats what the ordinary person is told. But thats not true is it?

    20
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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:05 PM

    where was the responsibility when the banks were lending recklessly or handing out 110% mortgages. where was the government then?

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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:07 PM
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    Mute SteveW
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:19 PM

    Socialism for the rich Sean unfortunately….

    12
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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:48 PM

    haha steve spot on…seems capitalism is grand until the shit hits the fan and then they turn to socialism for the solution…cake and eat it…under normal capitalist rules the banks should have went under…survival of the fittest and all that but this is where neo liberialism rears its ugly head…

    9
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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:52 PM

    we were told that our debt of 64 billion would inflate the euro if it wasnt paid back but yet the european central bank can magic a trillion dollars of money and hand it to the banks. the irish people were had and whats worse we were had by our own

    12
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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:23 PM

    Homelessness is the cost side effect of the “recovery”. Some are sacrificed. The homeless will not be voting.

    11
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    Mute Patlyndo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:33 PM

    Tip of the Iceberg according to some:

    SBP reported “vultures funds waiting to pull trigger” on SME’s and mortgage holders after election.

    154
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    Mute Kerry Blake
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:32 PM

    Imagine that and there’s FG and Labour telling us we are recovering ??

    64
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    Mute Patlyndo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:34 PM

    There is a recovery of sorts Kerry, but for those in too much debt, its not going to help because they will never earn what they earned back in 2006.

    It’s not correct to say that there is no recovery.

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:20 PM

    It’s a differential recovery. The comfortable and wealthy are doing better. The lower income groups are taking the hit.

    Homelessness is just one of the many adverse effects of increasing inequality and social exclusion.

    34
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    Mute Patlyndo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:41 PM

    So you keep saying, how come then that Ruth Coppinger has said that their first priority would be to reverse all the PS cuts to every single PS worker?

    The homeless not even their priority.

    I’m not wealthy, my husband is SE and we see an improvement not a major one, but an improvement and certainly better then 2011 I can tell you.

    17
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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 11:31 PM

    Partlyndo, if I were Ruth Coppinger, I would be getting uneasy with your negative obsession towards her. I happen to support Social democrats but I notice the way in which people of strongly conservative disposition get a bit excitable in opposition to Coppinger.

    I have been self employed for most of my working life but I don’t favour FG political economics.

    It is healthy that there should be a right/left dichotomy in Irish politics instead of a right, more right and very right variation.

    Thesis, antithesis and debate can provide good insights instread of an automatic and pro market outlook of consensus.

    14
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    Mute Sean South
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:25 PM

    Keep the recovery going!! the bankers the speculators the developers…

    107
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    Mute Tony Ornery G
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:40 PM

    This will only snowball after the General Election. A number of Vulture Funds have outsourced their residential loan books to Debt Management Companies who’s sole aim is get the most money in. The Code of Conduct on mortgage Arrears is no protection as the Vulture Funds are not limited by it. They NEVER signed up to it. Michael Noonan commented that they’d adhere to the spirit of the code. Lets see how many free spirits are without roofs over their heads in the next 12-24 months. Remember kids, don’t whinge, vote to keep the recovery going…
    …the recovery and repossession of family homes. Don’t believe me…?
    http://trickstersworld.com/2016/02/22/its-pissing-down-recovery-outside/

    102
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    Mute astjan
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:29 PM

    Not entirely true. Those Debt Management Companies you mention after the last year’s law change are now regulated by CBI and obliged by CCMA. But keep in mind that CCMA doesn’t apply to commercial loans

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    Mute Tony Ornery G
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:47 PM

    Not to be a pedant but some of the Debt Management Companies are not regulated by the CBI in reality. They have agreed to employ CCMA and be bound by same. While the “Central Bank welcomed this development” there’s little or no ability to enforce penalties if and when breaches occur. They hail predominantly(almost exclusively) from outside our jurisdiction and the Irish operation is little more than licence you or I can get for a few hundred euro, fitness and probity permitting. If you are familiar with CCMA (assume you are) you’d agree is little enough deterrent, evidenced by these companies already going outside the Unsolicited Contact guidelines routinely. The protections are less than ideal, no?
    Thanks and regards
    Tony

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    Mute Jeremiah Horsebeard
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:20 PM

    Pay your mortgage!

    90
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    Mute Karl Alldritt
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:45 PM

    Spot on. The moral hazard argument applies. Why should I pay if you don’t pay without consequences? People need to lose their properties if they refuse to pay for them.

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    Mute Boganity
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:59 PM

    The banks where always going to sit and wait for property values to recover before repossessing from defaulters.

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    Mute HelloGoogleTracking!
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:34 PM

    @Boganity,

    Only if the government facilitate them waiting, which they have done, refinancing them to prevent the need to liquidate mortgages.

    Therefore artificially maintaining a inflated market.

    15
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    Mute Mike Hall
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:36 PM

    Lets just remind ourselves of the principal reason these people have not been able to pay their mortgages – failure over 8 YEARS by FF, FG and Labour in government to recover from the mass unemployment and underemployment (or reduced wage rates).

    This recession and stagnation – caused by the vandalism of Austerity – has been longer lasting and deeper in GDP terms than any country endured during the Great Depression of the 1930s following their banker/finance fraud crash.

    If that isn’t an indictment of authorities competence and concern for citizens, I don’t know what is!

    We need *real* change. NONE of FF, FG or Labour are remotely interested in offering that. ‘Recovery’, my hole!

    18
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    Mute Patlyndo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 10:04 PM

    I would say the mismanagement of our finances from the 1990′s was the problem Mike – the bust was the boom was the result, the bust a foregone conclusion.

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    Mute HelloGoogleTracking!
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 10:07 PM

    That is a very interesting opinion Mike,

    I have not heard that point of view before…..

    Personally I thought the handling was as good as was possible and expected worse recession for longer. It seemed to be helped by external factors such as currencies / oil, and the boost associated with that for exports.

    While this added to our GDP, it neglected GNP which has been stagnant like you say, also added little to the tax take (except additional income tax), but ensured employment.

    A weak policy I grant you, given the advances in zero hour contracts, and employment agencies, providing workers without security, for short term placements.

    Property policies have been a disaster, as well as rental, and the tax burden on 30k-70k is mind boggling.

    That said, I don’t know what could have been done better, I no fan of FG / Labour, but acknowledge they did some good work……..
    I was very disappointed at there handling of public sector pay, and they talked big but did very little. There is so much wastage and public union grabbing of all available capital for salaries…..

    What could have been done different?

    I also would have made all pay income taxes, even below the 29k current cut off. I just seems wrong that anyone should be paying little or no income tax, while others carry the entire can.

    4
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    Mute Mike Hall
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    Feb 23rd 2016, 12:51 AM

    HGT, let me see if I can explain… you need to try and adopt a different economics conceptual framework to ‘get it’, I think…

    All the policies you mention are detail *micro* economics measures…

    Before we consider such secondary policies (which are still important manage), we should first consider the *macro* economic, primary economic levers…

    ‘Sectoral Analysis’ – a key part of MMT economics thinking – is most useful, and empirically valid.

    In this, we are interested in the way our balance sheets (net debt or surplus) are changing over time.

    Being mathematically consistent, we can split our economy into two sectors, whose balance sheets must exactly counter balance – at all times. That is, if one sector moves further into net aggregate debt, the other must be moving opposite, greater surplus, for the time period under consideration (typically, annual, for macro use).

    These two sectors (of most interest) are the Government on the one hand, and Non-Government (us and private business) on the other.

    When an economic shock occurs in the Non-Gov sector, such as we had in the 2007/8 crash, we see the Non-Gove sector rapidly reduce spending and, in compliment, pay down – reduce debt. But this reduced spending immediately begins to reduce employment – reduced demand means reduced jobs needed to supply it.

    But, the macro economy is a *dynamic system*, with feedback loops aplenty. One such is that reduced spending reduces jobs which then leads to further reduced spending. A nasty downward ‘positive feedback’ spiral that is only somewhat mitigated by the natural tendencies of all societies to modest growth.

    So, the ideal *macro* policy response to stop or reverse this self reinforcing downward spiral is surely obvious?

    Answer, the *other* sector in our model must go into net deficit, or increase its spending in order to stop, stabilise and (gently) reverse this dynamic and recover the employment and cyclic spending that was lost before we could react.

    Or, in other words, not just increased Gov sector deficit is needed, it needs to be *enough* – IF we assume that our overall economic goal is to maintain our standard of living in the real goods and services that besides entertain and educate us, also keep us alive and in good health.

    Ok, so, we could say, the Gov sector at least needs to be ‘counter cyclical’ and aim to balance what the Non-Gove sector has lost in debt pay down (which is actually money destroyed that was previously ‘created’ in the act of of a bank lending it). Perhaps a little more in order to counteract the ‘hysteresis’ or time lags in the system.

    Then, we should consider the *micro* or distributive impacts of our Gov sector net spending increase choices. Where, within the economy, should we choose to be, say, some combination of ‘macro’ effective, and also, say, ‘micro’ protective? Say, give the (newly) unemployed/redundant workers a temporay, minimum wage job offer, in place of lesser jobseekeers benefits? Or give bankers or other Capital owner (elites) bigger tax breaks or other net benefits from public funds? I have an opinion about which, but regardless, the ‘distributional’ aspect is the proper busininess of democracy to decide. But the ‘macro’ overall effect should be a matter of calculated determination from data.

    What we all should understand is that an adequate level of net Gov sector spending needs to occur, as judged by such metrics as consumer demand and net real investment (in productive exploits, not Finance sector casino gambling, which presently counts equally in GDP), and, importantly, the unemployment rate.

    Ok, so far, so good. But, I’m sure you have been thinking since you began reading, how is such Gov sector net spending (deficit) increase ‘affordable’?

    Simple.

    Principle One – we are using ‘fiat’ (created from nothing) money, near globally in free floating value to each other currency. By definition, the supply of such currency has *no* natural limit in *supply* (not *effect*) terms – it is a matter of man made policy choice.

    Principle Two. No matter that we see the definitional absurdity of currency creating sovereigns ‘borrowing’ what they can create ‘ex nihilo’ at will, the reality (and all evidence) shows two things.

    A. In *nominal* terms, such debt is never repaid, nor is demanded to be repaid by lenders – ‘bondholders’, in aggregate.

    B. The interest paid is in fact a matter of Gov policy, thru’ wholly Gov owned/controlled (by Act of state) Central Banks – those which are also allowed to issue currency. (ie not Euro members, but most all others).

    We see the proof of this in the evidence for US$, UK£, JapYen and others’ historical records of accumulated Gov sector ‘debt’. And in interest rates which have always, since the 1971 collapse of Bretton Woods fixed echange control, behaved in countercyclical fashion during recessions. That, in contrast to the Euro currency system, their ‘base’ interest rates fall at the very same times that greater Gov deficits are needed, during recessions.

    In principle, there is no reason ANY Euro member country, unless firmly known to be exiting the Euro (which is near impossible to contemplate), should not enjoy these same low rates of interest that eg Germany has – that is, at present, and throughout the last years, only a fraction of one percent, in real terms. The existence, for Euro member countries, of ‘Bond Vigilantes’ is a purely political choice. Just as we saw the ECB reign in the bond vigilantes in respect of snowballing interest rates on Spanish and Italian to ‘collapse’ levels, the Central Bank possesses the unique power to control *any* market denominated in the currency it can issue at will.

    In other words, negligible cost. There is no real reason any Euro country – and especially not Ireland – should be paying anything more than the *negative* interest, in real terms (allowing for inflation), enjoyed right now in countries like the UK, US, Japan, and others.

    For prudent, effective (in restoring aggregate spending flow and jobs) Gov sector net spending increase, in the modest amounts needed as *stimulus*, there is NO real shortage of finance. Only a lack of political will to access it.

    For example…. a few years ago, when our construction sector collapsed, we could have increased public investment in social housing and other infrastructure which would pay us all dividends for years to come. If we wanted to restructure somewhat away from an oversized construction sector, we could have put money into training and tax breaks for the areas we wished to strategically develop.

    That kind of thing would have been the correct response to the economic shock of the bust and immediate fall out.- and still is, to accelerate recovery, and to better distribute it

    Instead, EU Authorities and own political establishment (Golden Circle…) did the opposite…

    They did this because they considered (or was considered for them by the ultimate powers) that it was more profitable for them and their Capital owner class, taking the long view (for themselves), for the economy to suffer Gov sector spending reduction, forced privatisations of public assets, wage suppression and various other Asset foreclosures or low price sales.

    It doesn’t need a ‘conspiracy’. This kind of boom, bust instability, by policy design, has occurred throughout history, and the Capital class have long learnt how to play this game (most of them, and at the top of it, all of them).

    Hmm.. that’s a longer explanation than I anticipated. I’ll leave it there.

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    Mute Steve Watson
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    Feb 23rd 2016, 5:02 AM

    Socialism for the banks. Capitalism for the people

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    Feb 23rd 2016, 12:22 PM

    Interesting Mike,

    I’ll give that some thought

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    Feb 23rd 2016, 12:40 PM

    HGT you make it sound like the government had another option, problem was that other option was the option you have when you don’t have an option

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    Feb 23rd 2016, 10:34 PM

    Direct that comment to the banks whose mortgages we are paying, because they can’t seem to run their organisations.

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    Mute Eel Knack Mole
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:32 PM

    It should be noted when analysing these figures that the reposessions are an overhang of the recession, and not primarily a product of recent years. Due to the initial moratorium on family home repossessions, and the length of time it takes to prosecute the cases through the Circuit and High Courts, with the courts granting multiple adjournments to owners, Very few repossessions had occurred before 2014. It is a delayed impact of the crash, and a very painful one.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:56 PM

    The only reason they were not taken until now is because the value was on the floor.

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:21 PM

    The so called recovery has exacerbated the homelessness problem and it is going to get an awful lot worse.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:32 PM

    @Fiano,

    Recovery is real, and measured in economic performance and output, and capital generated, all real.

    Homelessness is another issue, that is the result of huge property holdings by NAMA, and banks, being held from the market awaiting price increases, artificially starving demand.

    Resulting in massive rental increases, and unaffordable housing.

    People unwilling to move from properties they cannot afford also making it worse, as these properties should be on the market for les, driving prices down, and adding supply.

    Foreclosures should be brought against insolvent landlords, and properties sold again for real value…..all adding supply.

    All reopvented by policies designed to create another bubble.

    Separate from recovery…..but disgusting all the same

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 10:52 PM

    Economic recovery without social recovery is sterile. There is no trickledown.

    If 1% are doing better, 10% the same and 80% worse off , economic recovery is dangerously illusory.

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    Mute Matt Connolly
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:30 PM

    “will likely sit empty for a long period of time until the banks see fit to put it on the market.”

    While I absolutely support and admire the Peter McVerry Trust – the above quote is wholly unsubstantiated and contrary to the law. – Banks are prohibited from sitting on property once repossessed and are required to put them on the market immediately – which is the only reason they want vacant possession in the first place.

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    Mute Peter Higgins
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:40 PM

    I’m quite sure all the people who had their homes repossessed would have paid the mortgage had they been in a position to afford it.

    Who in their right mind would want to lose whatever investment they had put into the home initially ? Deposit , Legal fees , Stamp duties etc.

    No, anyone who has to surrender their home to a bank, losing everything, deserves our sympathy…

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:27 PM

    If you don’t make payments, then you don’t get to keep the house.

    It does not really belong to the people until the final payment is made, think of it like a hire purchase from the bank.

    Taxpayers should not be funding anyone’s mortgage…..unless they are going to fund everyone’s mortgage.

    It is very sad, but if people over borrow, and make purchases they cannot afford, then they must face the consequences

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    Mute Shakka1244
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:35 PM

    I’d certainly agree that people over borrowed during the Celtic Tiger years. Peoples circumstances do change however and maybe they were able to afford their mortgage but then become unemployed or lower paid due the the general recession.

    Do you not think though that the banks should shoulder some responsibility for massively over extending themselves and providing huge mortgages with little or no risk assessment? Most people are not money savvy. If their bank manager (or similar) tells them their €500k mortgage will be fine, most would take it.

    A large part of the issue was greed on the banks part yet, we bailed them out and they remain untouched. Doesn’t seem right to me.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:46 PM

    I understand your point, but I am focusing on individual responsibility, which everyone is always so quick to discount, and avoid. These are adults will adult responsibilities, and adult commitments and contracts.

    Buying a house is a serious purchase, and anyone doing it casually without professional independent advise is reckless.

    Many people eager to get on property ladder intentionally cooked their books, and made false statement to the banks. This is a fact.

    At the end of the day, the banks can always take the house back……so the burden of responsibility is on people, they have to look after there own interests.

    To think the banks are going to be your buddy or financial adviser is stupid in the extreme, and anyone mindlessly trusting banks is also stupid.

    Yea circumstances change, that is why responsible people consider that in advance.

    I don’t agree with the banks being bailed out, but paying other people’s mortgages with my taxes is out of the question !!!
    Unless of course the full amount paid is also given to everyone without mortgages.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:48 PM

    Don’t fully disagree Shakka, but do you let people who can no longer afford to stay in their homes, while people who can afford to buy are priced out of the market?

    Banks should shoulder some of the blame, fully agree – but they’ll recoup this somewhere down the line – so it’s people now coming of age and wanting to buy that will have to pay – is that fair?

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:49 PM

    I worked in the property sector and i was taking home around €2,200 per month. I was seriously thinking about buying a house. The repayments would have been around €850. Quite affordable. A friend talked me out of it. 12 months later i was earning €1200 a month. I never really thought my circumstances would change so dramatically so quickly. The point i am making is that plenty of people could afford those mortgages at the time but things changed so drastically. I really do feel for those that lose their homes. It must be heartbreaking…

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:55 PM

    They are not “their” homes until they have paid them off.

    Until then they are in the process of purchasing the house.

    In many cases they might not even have paid off the interest.

    It is sad to lose a dream, but reality is, if you cannot afford it, then you cannot afford t.

    I would love to have a yacht and a small island, will the taxpayer buy them for me if I make 20 small payment????

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    Mute Joe Travers
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:59 PM

    Ok Google. Then if you have health insurance and I have health insurance and I get a 10k operation, you should get 10k too. Well, that’s great logic. People are in dire need of some sort of bailout too. After all its people not businesses that are key to this country.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:05 PM

    @joe,

    What mortgage insurance are you referring too?

    There is no comparison, with respect your point is stupid.

    If the taxpayer is going to give you 100′s of thousands to pay for a house you cannot afford, then I too should get 100′s of thousands to purchase a house I cannot afford.

    Make sense?

    Let’s all buy houses we can’t afford, then expect the magic taxpayer fairy to pay for them for us.

    If people cannot afford the houses they are living in, then they must sell them and find somewhere they can afford.

    This is reality, and the way the world works. If you don’t pay for something you don’t get to keep it.

    Unless you want to change the system, then it should apply to all equally.

    Why reward reckless or over borrowed individuals, surely we should be punishing them and rewarding sensible and prudent people.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:09 PM

    HGT:

    That is a very rare point of view and an unwelcome one.

    People gave little or no thought when borrowing eye watering amounts of money.

    At no stage did they consider things going wrong at any point, illness, unemployment – nothing.

    Risk assessment is a must, too late for many though.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:40 PM

    @patlyndo,

    Thanks, I don’t expect to win a popularity contest.

    Doesn’t change the fact it is true, glad to see someone else with a independent critical and fair mind.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:57 PM

    Well you certainly won’t be popular around here HGT lol.

    I recollect a time when I was almost tempted to buy a home, went to a mortgage adviser who told me I could borrow a huge amount of money.

    One thing that stood out was that he had included to rent a room potential income as actual income I was receiving.

    I asked him how he could do this when I actually wouldn’t be renting a room so the income did not and would not exist.

    I sat and did my own calculations and without this, while I could afford the mortgage, one illness/accident and I was toast.

    I didn’t buy.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:07 PM

    Unless you are a well heeled developer or investor. Then it’s perfectly acceptable to get write downs.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:14 PM

    HGT the banks have a responsibility to check the paperwork they were given. Don’t they?

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:21 PM

    @patlyndo,

    Yeah i can imagine, i had friends trying to group together, insisting prices will always rise, borrowing money from parents to fake income in account, getting false salary statements from work etc.

    I remember people trying to convince me that interest only was the way, buy, do the place up, and before the internet is even paid off, sell at a profit.

    I was told, demographics, population, endless economic and property price increases.
    I was told soft landings, blah blah….

    To my mind this was insane, prices cannot rise forever, bubbles happen all the time, recessions always happen too. And the asking prices became insane and as much as antibes in southern France.

    Then people started double borrowing for holiday homes, and houses in bulgaria, refinancing to get the nicer car to show off to neighbours…….all they would talk about was equity, and house prices….

    And it went bang…….as was obvious, but the market has been protected

    1. banks bailed out….kinda understandable due to effect of fail on rest of europe….but still wrong.
    2. People were protected, in houses they could not afford, and repossessions were not allowed……the valve, should have been cheap sell offs of repossessed house, to correct the market….but no…
    3. NAMA hoarding assists to manipulate rental and property prices.
    4. Now people start demanding other responsible taxpayers pay off their mortgages ????

    People got crazy with greed, they like to rewrite history and claim to be simple poor people with no understanding of economics….fooled by evil bankers, and that they never even read the mortgage contract. What about all the refinancing….I would love to look at some of these distressed mortgages, and see how many cars they bought, or foreign holidays, with “equity releases”

    They gambled 30years of earning (assuming they would have a job and the same earnings) and lost the bet. The price is that they lose the house the have not paid for…….seems fair.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:23 PM

    @Stephan,

    Yes they did, and they f&^ked up too, and borrowed recklessly from europe to fuel the property bubble, no doubt about it.

    But it was the people who took the mortgages, often falsified, and with the clear consequences fully understood, that if they did not repay them, the house would be taken as collateral.

    That is now happening, and totally fair in my view

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:30 PM

    Google.. Its their “home” as soon as they move in and settle there. Its “their property” when they have paid their final instalment. Most people could afford it at the time and were prepared to work hard and through no fault of theirs they lost jobs and couldnt get work.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:32 PM

    Agree with most of this, but can I tease something out with you,

    1. banks bailed out….kinda understandable due to effect of fail on rest of europe….but still wrong.

    In your view, what was the alternative? What would have happened to bank deposits from ordinary people, small business’s etc,

    Mortgages and loans?

    It was wrong, very wrong, but I struggle to see what we could have done because letting the banks go would have meant, to my mind, cutting off the ability to continue borrowing.

    I mean if you don’t pay your mortgage then you’re hardly going to be able to get another loan, wouldn’t the same principle apply?

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:45 PM

    @Patlyndo,

    I have to agree with you.

    It was wrong on a moral level, and pure capitalist level to bail them out.

    However you are 100% correct, the effect would have been massive defaults on loans taken by these Irish banks from European banks.

    This would have lead to a donimo effect, even though a lot of these European banks were much more responsible in their domestic markets. The massive shock to the system would have lead to chaos.
    The recession in Ireland would have been orders of magnitudes bigger, “the atomic bomb going off in Dublin” quote is quite practical. Business would close due to mo liquidity, deposited would have been under threat, mass unemployment etc etc…

    Also more recessions across larger economies in Europe would have resulted…..making everything worse.

    So I agree….didnt express it well….but I understand why it was necessary, and was done. But also understand how morally wrong it was……

    I expect however over time, Europe will make more concessions, extend repayment time etc, and allow the debt to be minimised within the rules.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:51 PM

    @Sinead,

    I agree with you too.

    Yes it is their home, even if they have not paid it off, or own it yet. I do have sympathy, it must be absolutely horrible, and the crushing of a dream, and plans for the future, and family home etc…..I am not blind to the human suffering.

    Also it may not be their fault that they cannot pay anymore, their employer might have gone bust, or made redundant….increased taxes etc, but if they don’t make payments then they lose the house and the home.

    It is harsh, but it is reality, and the meaning of a mortgage contract, and it entire purpose in existing.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:58 PM

    Thanks for that, HGT,

    That is exactly my view, it was horrendously wrong, but the alternative would have been far worse, when I see people saying we should have let the banks fail, I always ask them what the alternative would have been – I never get a response mind.

    “I expect however over time, Europe will make more concessions, extend repayment time etc, and allow the debt to be minimised within the rules.”

    Absolutely agree with this. It’s not the end of the matter, but we have to play the long game.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:02 PM

    A small minority are responsible for the majority of the bank debt while they mightn’t have bought islands am sure quite a few yachts helicopters etc were in the equation. And now being paid for by who? You seem to envy taxpayers who might be helped out by well other taxpayers or indeed anyone who is down on their luck. I actually really feel sorry for you. Y’know being soulless and all..

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:18 PM

    @Steve,

    People were buying 2 / 3 houses, houses in Bulgaria, holiday homes in clare.

    They were releasing equity every year their “house price” went up, buying cars and holidays.
    Taking out further mortgages on the back of projected property increases, and rental and house sale prices.

    Not developers, ordinary people, all over the country. These people used their “homes” as investments, and cash cows…….borrowing and borrowing, expecting increases forever.

    This was not a tiny minority……developers were also doing it at a bigger scale.
    Hundreds of thousands of people were doing it……and taking massive risks doing so.

    They knew if they don’t make repayments they lose the house, so what has changed?

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:14 PM

    Hi google.. cant disagree with you there.

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    Feb 23rd 2016, 12:06 AM

    The Banks hyped up the residential property market by over supply of credit.

    The requirement, imposed by the Constitiution, and allocated to the CBI and IFSRA to control the supply of credit in the national interest was totally ignored.

    Scapegoating borrowers who followed conventional acice reinforced by the media, property professionals, mortgage brokers and bonus incentivised bankers is to focus on consequence at the expense of the true causal factors.

    Honohan put it well. It was credit chasing prices, chasing credit in a self reinforcing upward loop which became unsustainable as banks started to lend 110% LTVs and 1000% of inflated incomes as peolple were panicked into buying homes at inflated values.

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    Feb 23rd 2016, 9:48 AM

    @HelloGoogle

    Hang on a minute…we are currently paying hundreds of millions to people who CANNOT AFFORD a house to live in by paying them “Rent Supplement” ! So therefore why is it so wrong to support people who are having difficulty with their mortgage to remain in their homes?

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    Feb 23rd 2016, 12:27 PM

    @warthog,

    Not comparable. Rent supplement is for unemployed and is means tested.

    Anyone unable to play mortgage through unemployment can apply for rent supplement after they sell their house.

    Also many who cannot pay a mortgage for a house to expensive for their means, are not unemployed. They just don’t earn enough to live there. They already receive mortgage interest relief paid by the taxpayer.

    If they still cannot afford it( then they lose it.

    It would be crazy to be paying people’s mortgages for houses they cannot afford, where would you draw the line, how would you qualify people to receive it?

    Would t everyone just buy beyond there means and expect the taxpayer to pay for the house for them?

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:42 PM

    While I agree that people must pay their debts, there is up to 50k mortgages in arrears in this country. Should the banks be allowed to repossess all of these homes after being bailed out by the taxpayer? Do you realise that when a family is evicted that we, the taxpayer have to pay for their accommodation?
    Does anyone really think that is right?
    The banks must be made to accept whatever these families can afford to pay them until they are back in suitable employment so as to pay back what they owe.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:11 PM

    What about the taxpayers who want to buy homes Robert? The banks don’t have to accept anything, because their job is to recoup what they can and pay off the taxpayer – who bailed them out.

    We can’t keep ignoring the problem any longer, while people with two jobs are left renting, there’s no-one paying their rent.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:19 PM

    I see what you’re saying pat, do you think us taxpayers should be made pay for accommodation for families that have been evicted by bailed out banks?
    I just think it’s wrong and they should be given a break until they can manage again. Fair enough, there’s plenty who would love to buy their own home and there is a shortage of property at the moment, but a lot of the problem is, as you said, high rents and high deposits needed to take out a mortgage.
    That’s not really the fault of stressed mortgage holders.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:38 PM

    Robert, I am in total agreement with you, this government failed to address these issues 5 years ago, they allowed the banks to run roughshod around people and indeed Michael Noonan actually said that he wanted house prices to go higher.

    They failed. Simple as, no argument from me here.

    But where do we start and where do we draw the line – it’s not a case of we’ll bailout thousands of people, someone has to pay – it’s the taxpayer, and those taxpayers are working, they have no debt, they are being crucified in the rental market – too much time has passed, there are people in homes where even with a debt write-down, they still can’t pay.

    “there’s plenty who would love to buy their own home and there is a shortage of property at the moment”

    There is, but as I said, there are people in properties in parts of the country, that they can no longer live, there are others who can pay – if people can afford less of a mortgage, then this has to be reflected in where they live.

    Would you agree that someone living in a nice area like Sandymount, in arrears – should get a write down?

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:22 PM

    So you don’t get to keep things you can’t afford just because you really, really want them then. Ben Gilroy will be surprised by this revelation.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:49 PM

    If I lent you money. Whatever you wanted and I new there was no way in hell you would have the assets or resources for the loan. Am I not partially to blame for lending you the money? We should adopt an American model where banks are held responsible for the loan if the person can’t pay it back after all they made the decision to lend they gambled and lost.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:52 PM

    They didn’t gamble, they lend a massive amount of money, and kept the house as collateral.

    This means if the repayments are not made the house is taken as payment of the balance. Sold and if any remainder this is still outstanding.

    That is the agreement made, signed and agreed by the adults buying the house.

    Then when the repayments are not made the house is repossessed.

    What is he problem?

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:01 PM

    The problem is these banks recklessly lent to people with absolutly no means to pay them back if it went belly up which it did. If thats not a gamble what is? They will never get back what they paid out for the house during the boom. Which is why we should adopt a fairer model where the bank take most of the hit if it went bellie up. Are you saying the banks told people there is a good chance that the country will go bust in the near future when clients where looking for mortgages back in the celtic tiger years to give them a better perspective on weather or not to take the loan? The majority of ordinary people new nothing of economics the banks have expert knowledge so they should take responsibility.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:10 PM

    @vincent,
    The banks cannot see the future, and everyone was told if they cannot repay the mortgage they will lose the house. EVERYONE knows this.

    Circumstances can change, recessions happen, people lose jobs, get sick, get fired, take to drink, have divorces etc…….
    BUT if they do not make mortgage payments they lose the house.

    What could be fairer than that???

    The banks do not gamble, they make the loan with collateral that can be collected if payments are not made. And the debt follows the individual.

    This is not a gamble, it is a guarantee to be repayed.

    Your claim not to understand simple concepts strikes me as self serving.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:18 PM

    Well i am not in any sort of debt if thats what your getting at with your last comment. I do however stand over what ib said. I am however asking myself why im trying to justify my beliefs to a person who feels he or she has to hide there identity. In short I am not going to justify myself to a coward.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:22 PM

    @HelloGoogle, if the banks were so prudent then why did Joe Public have to bail them out? The banks couldn’t repay their own loans so they should have gone to the wall?

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:30 PM

    @vincent

    Any intelligent person protects their privacy online, only fools use transparency as a badge of honour. You for example will only post what you think will get you the most likes on Facebook, appeasing your peer group with sheep like repeats of mindless mantras, to join in and be liked by all.

    I fail to see rational anonymous exchange of ideas changes the validity of my points however, but do understand how you use it to deflect and hide from them.

    My point was to not understand these basic concepts, indicates a willingness to avoid reality.

    This is usually due to a vested interest or an institutionalised point of view, or lazy consensus thought, devoid of critical thinking.

    Why should anyone be allowed to keep an asset worth hundreds of thousands that they cannot afford?

    How could any society operate like that?

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:37 PM

    @de la ray,

    Yes the banks should have been allowed to fail.
    Bond holders should not have been repaid, and my taxes should not have been used to maintain an overinflated property sector.

    Which they are still being used to protect.

    People not paying mortgages should be out and repossessed houses on the market, driving prices down, and correcting the market.

    You cannot have the only sensible members of the economy bailing out every reckless person…….that is the wrong way around.

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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:57 PM

    I hope the new one year bankruptcy process will help more “reckless” people to keep their homes ..
    It looks like it has already put a stop to Boucher’s gallop :)

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    Mute Vincent Wallace
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:13 PM

    Hahaha yeah right Google. Your a real hero. So intellegent for hiding yourself online. Your abit of a narcissist if you think people care what you write on the journal. Or maybe watched to many movies as a kid the exfiles tv series springs to mind they are always after you watch your back.

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    Mute Matthew Moore
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:15 PM

    It’s very possible that the new law will increase repossessions. Previously the Official Assignee had as long as he needs to deal with the family home, many years in some cases. Ultimately, the bankrupt or a spouse could buy the share back. The new rules mean it must be dealt with in 3 years. This may force the hand of the OA.

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    Mute HelloGoogleTracking!
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:32 PM

    @Vincent,

    Move to china if you want no privacy or civil rights protections, in the free world privacy is a right. In a democracy the free exchange of ideas are paramount.

    Using a Facebook profile is counter productive, and has been proven to censor peoples opinions. There is a herd mentality on Facebook, without free thought or independent ideas, it forces users to confirm.

    Look at any issue or post….people are afraid to say anything controversial, and only go with sheep like empty, ill thought out opinions like yours.

    I doubt there would ever be anything not consensus approved in any of your posts, who is the real coward I ask you?

    You don’t have the strength of your convictions, the ability to defend or debate your ideas, and then resort to pathetic childish attacks when challenged on it.

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    Mute SteveW
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:34 PM

    Imagine instead of having paid back the bond holders the government could have instead bought these distressed houses and collected affordable mortgages on them over the years at a reasonable profit while keeping people in their homes….

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    Mute Patlyndo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:50 PM

    Funny, naive, but funny.

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    Mute HelloGoogleTracking!
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:58 PM

    Bond holders should not have been repaid, agreed, they gambled on an investment and lost.

    However lying people’s mortgages is even more wrong, if you think it through.

    What about people who haven’t paid, what about the effect it has to artificially maintain a over inflated property market.

    The list of reasons why your idea is bad is very very long……I suggest you try thinking it through, with all consequences intended and otherwise.

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    Mute SteveW
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:50 PM

    @Hello. Wow the thought of Irish people being bailed out instead too much to bear? I have also a very long list of why it’s a good idea but like you I won’t bother. So before you contradict someone else’s post maybe take the time to “think” before doing so …

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    Mute HelloGoogleTracking!
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:01 PM

    @Steve,

    Fair enough,

    How would you do it? How would you identify people who deserve it against those who were borrowing and investing for personal gain.

    How much would you give each individual, and how would you justify that to millions of others who wisely did not over extend themselves.

    Why allow someone to stay in an expensive house they cannot afford while others sleep on the streets homeless?

    Why give hundreds of thousands to someone who does not want to honour the contract they signed?

    What would that do the the contract anyone signs in the future?
    Would everyone then expect there mortgage to be paid for them if they lose their job?

    Why bother having mortgages at all then? Why not just everyone a free house?
    While you bare all it, give anyone a million euros too, out of your magic money machine.

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    Mute Patlyndo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:01 PM

    That’s the problem Steve – they can’t be bailed out “instead” – because the bailout is past and done,

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    Mute Patlyndo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:15 PM

    Great point and let me give an example:

    Two families living side by side. one in arrears and not working, the other family working and barely making ends meet.

    One family gets bailed out and what about the other family struggling to make ends meet at the end of the month?

    No arrears – no bailout?

    Is that fair?

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:25 PM

    Sit back comfortably as your neighbour and family are rendered homeless and vote for the political parties whose policies encourage or tolerate homelessness.

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    Mute Patlyndo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:44 PM

    You can include Ruth Coppinger’s party in that Fiona,

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 11:58 PM

    Partlyndo, deflection again. I don’t agree with many if Coppinger’s views but your adverse obese ssick with her obscures the reality that Coppjnger did not contribute to the homeless problem, which is the subject of this article.

    FG and Labour have supported the policies which have exacerbated the homelessness problem and made a bad situation unnecessarily worse.

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    Mute JimmyMc
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:22 PM

    Fear not, SinnFein have been promising free houses on the campaign trail, paid for by middle income earners, who’ve had their property repossessed

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    Mute Boganity
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:01 PM

    …this PPB was brought to you by JimmyMc

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    Mute Paul
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:26 PM

    With ovsr 100,000 mortgages less than 550 is nothing

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    Mute Paul
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:24 PM

    Hones are only taken when there is no engagement or corporation with the banks.

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    Mute Peter
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:22 PM

    Imagine paying for your home for years and being kicked out and having to start again. They’re probably going to buy back the same house again at some stage. Hopefully!

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    Mute HelloGoogleTracking!
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:24 PM

    If they don’t pay the Morgage, then they lose the house, sounds fair.

    Otherwise if the system is give people houses with mortgages paid by taxpayer, then I want a free house too !!!

    They take back cars when not paid for, and everything else in life.

    Where is the misunderstanding?

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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:36 PM

    Except that It’s not YOUR home… When mortgages first came about it was made very clear that the bank owns the house until you pay off the outstanding mortgage.

    People seem to have lost perspective of that very simple fact between the flowery marketing of TV ads and newspaper property segments about the need to get on the property ladder.

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    Mute ManUMan
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:00 PM

    The banks should not have loaned the money out some from the start no? Managers okayed loans that people blatantly could not afford so they could hit targets & in return receive their nice bonus. The banks got bailed out on their mistakes but it’s still left to these people now to pick up the pieces on a house probably worth half what they originally paid for, working in a job earning less now then when they started 5/6 years ago!! “Just pay your mortgage”? Short memory

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    Mute HelloGoogleTracking!
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:14 PM

    Bank manager ok’d loans to people who could not afford them???

    So these people were making fraudulent loan applications, cooking their accounts and income levels to fool the banks.

    You are admitting people who could not afford were applying for mortgages……and dodgy solicitors were helping them (at their request) as well as dodgy mortgage agents etc…..
    All to fool the banks, who should have been more diligent in checking.

    BUT when it fails it is the person who over borrowed that loses their home, and rightfully so. They gambled their future earnings and lost, the bank keeps the collateral of the home.

    Fair is fair

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    Mute Stephen Brady
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:21 PM

    Hgt no the banks did not do their due diligence. Remember that these same banks had also loaned developers silly amounts of cash to build these houses and there for had a vested interest in getting them sold.

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    Mute Mr. Hoffman
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:29 PM

    Buyers need to take personal responsibility. If you signed a mortgage saying that you would make payments of X amount over X number of years, you are responsible for doing just that.

    If you weren’t certain you could pay X each month, why would you sign the mortgage in the first place???

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    Mute ManUMan
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:16 PM

    Fair is fair? Are you for real? You think all the banks have done has been honest? They put this country on its knees by not doing their job properly & then get bailed out, charge their customers more on their loans & interest to cover their mistakes? Yeah the banks do great job.

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    Mute HelloGoogleTracking!
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:57 PM

    @Stephan,

    Your point is well made, and you are right. The banks did fail to use due diligence, and many people snuck through and got mortgages they shouldn’t have.

    The banks bear a massive responsibility, and their actions caused massive shock waves all over europe.

    HOWEVER, they did it with willing participants, equally responsible, i.e. the mortgage takers.

    These people knowingly in many cases falsified there financials to secure mortgages, attempting to get amounts far in excess of what they could afford. And the did it KNOWINGLY and because they wanted to make profit.

    Some of course simply wanted to get a home, they are the victims, and less likely to be the defaulters.

    The most likely candidates, are the equity release merchants, the double housers, holiday home pension merchants…..and people who viewed the family home as an investment.

    And there were plenty of those, and they were reckless, and herd like in there determined effort to buy buy buy.

    These people do not deserve to be bailed out.

    People who bought a home, with the recovery and with the additional time granted to find new employment etc….should be ok. Unless they were unskilled manual labourers, or without a profession needed in todays society. These people should never have been given such mortgages anyway, and it is correct to repossess.

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    Mute Suzanne Murphy
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 10:30 PM

    @Mr. Hoffman It’s not that simple though. Many pepole were advised by the banks to take out morgages with a variable interest rate as it was much more affordable. The interest rates then went through the roof and whereas a family may have been making monthly payments of say €1000, that would now barely touch the intrest. The point you’re missing is that its not as simple as agreeing to pay X amount. For some people their monthly morgage payments have doubled and they simply can’t keep up.

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    Mute Hola Mi Gente
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:29 PM

    If you are not earning over 69k then you have to live in boxes. Sinn Feiners are lazy bums who drink beer and watch tv all day. Ha ha! I’m luxurious, and you are peasants! au revoir! PS i lost my black gloves on the dart today, if anyone sees them hand them in please, they are Yves Saint Laurent and have my gold euro symbols on the inside. God bless!

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    Mute Watchful Axe
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:39 PM

    A large percentage of those houses are probably the easier to repossess second homes/buy to lets. Probably has people in them not or not able to pay the rent. Banks won’t be long turfing them out.

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    Mute Willy
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:49 PM

    All in the recovery… Wake up Ireland before your taxed for sleeping..

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    Mute Cindy Ormiston
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:34 PM

    Just wonder who picks up the pieces????

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:24 PM

    Stop whinging dont you know the recovery is here ! Our Great Leader has told us this……

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:02 PM

    He pulled a lovely face on 6.1. News tonight as well as huffing and puffing at the start…

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:51 PM

    AT LEAST BANKERS ARE GETTING THEIR LOVELY BONUSES AGAIN THANKS TO THE GOVERNMENT AS 1600 CHILDREN ARE HOMELESS AND ALL THOSE ON TROLLIES OR IN FLOODED HOMES WOULD BE HAPPY FOR THEM, sarcasm there…

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    Mute Christopher
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:05 PM

    Keep the recovery going ha ha ha ha ha ha hehehe o my ribs

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    Mute Paul Cahoon
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 8:19 PM

    Recovery, must mean a totally different thing to this government. New dictionaries I would say

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 11:36 PM

    How will the 37,000 borrowers who are in more than 2 years arrears be housed when their family homes are possessed by the Banks?

    What happens to those paying high rents whose incomes are reducing due to non means tested taxes?

    What happens in the next 3 years before social housing comes on stream?

    What happens as LPT and water charges increase and start to bite in earnest?

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    Mute John E V Kenny
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:39 PM

    Personal insolvency practitioners can solve this by writing off debt

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    Mute Al Ca
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:45 PM

    Send a memo to Kenny and Noonan……they need the advice.

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    Mute Patlyndo
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 5:51 PM

    Nice advertising job there John,

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    Mute Mc F Kevin
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 7:06 PM

    Hey John

    Have the banks changed their attitude since the new one year bankruptcy law came into effect ?

    This was a great result ,wasn’t it ?

    http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2016/0211/767336-courts-insolvency/

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    Mute Benny Dorm
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 6:36 PM

    Thanks Labour.

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    Mute Rosa Parks
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:04 PM

    The children shouldnt be punished for the mistakes of their parents, or the collapse of pare td businesses that used to provide the income to pay the mortgage. On the other hand there are others who refuse to pay due to haggling.

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    Mute Rosa Parks
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:05 PM

    Meant to say “collapse of their businneses”. Smartphone :(

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    Mute ColindeB
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    Mar 1st 2016, 11:24 AM

    Devil is in the detail:
    “In total, 564 homes were repossessed up until the end of September 2015.
    313 homes were repossessed in total over the course of 2014.”

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    Mute @mdmak33
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    Feb 22nd 2016, 9:38 PM

    Disgraceful.

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