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NEARLY 80,000 mortgages are in arrears as Sinn Féin demands that Finance Minister Michael Noonan releases the Central Bank report on how to deal with the crisis.
Last month, Noonan received the report which detailed what changes must be made to ensure more families do not have their homes repossessed.
Latest figures from the Central Bank show how 79,562 mortgages on family homes are currently in arrears.
At end-September 2016, there were 738,506 private residential mortgage accounts valued at €99.9 billion. Of these, 79,562 accounts were in arrears, representing a fall of 2,529 over the quarter. Over 56,000 accounts were in arrears of more than 90 days.
Report
Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said Noonan must release the report as soon as possible.
He said: “This report from the Central Bank to the Minister could be a crucial step in creating a new environment where banks and vulture funds being allowed deal with the arrears crisis on their own terms is ended.
“On the day the Central Bank publish figures telling us that 11% of mortgages on family homes were in arrears at end of September and that during the last quarter 1,210 legal cases were taken against the family hom, I am calling on the Minister to publish the report immediately.”
Doherty added that there is “no justifiable reason” why the report has not been released as of yet.
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If the huge interest rates that are being charged were brought down in line with the European rates it would make a huge difference. Banks fleecing the customers here.
Huge interest rates?? They are the lowest they have been in modern history. The real problems will start when they start heading back towards 10%+
Of course numbers are going down they are losing there homes
@nialls:
Actually, the real problem will happen when interest rates rise by even 0.5% such is the precarious position many hard working families find themselves in.
Noonan will never be found wanting when families need to be evicted from their homes to enrich the banks.
True Shakka and people considering getting a mortgage need to strongly consider the affordability of that mortgage when rates rise.
@nialls: There is no easy route for anyone these days, but considering the probability of rising rents against rising mortgage interest charges I would advise mortgage over rent any day.
Surely banks couldn’t justify an increase any time soon even if the base rate increases from zero. I mean the mark up is phenomenal. Even if the ECB increased rates for three straight years the Irish banks would still be overcharging by over 3%!
The creditocracy will fleece you on rent or on Mortage repayments unless you are in the fortunate position of being on a tracker. Rent and mortgages are the primary means of evaporating wealth up from low and middle income earners to the super wealthy.
Well said Micheal. Most people are also blissfully unaware that the banks get to create new money from nothing each time they issue a loan and then get to charge interest on the loan/mortgage.
@Chris Kirk:
Depends on the person to be fair. Just as before, people are getting in a panic believing it will keep rising or level off. Really need to consider ones profession too considering some will become obsolete or of far less importance (well paid) in the time the average mortgage runs.
@benji what is the fractional banking rate for this part of the world?
Wonder what the correlation is between that number and the number of repossessions. How can this be spun into a good news story?
Jesus Christ, I’ve just heard Simon Coveney on Today FM stating that things aren’t that bad for the homeless in Ireland when you compare it to the refugees drowning in the medetteranean.
Nice of you to set the bar for an acceptable standard of living for 2016 Ireland so high minister.
Warmer in the Med.
Just repossess the lot of them !
So what if 75k plus families are put on the streets. As long as the banks and vulture funds get their balance sheets up that’s all that matters eh FG?
Noonan is rubbing his hands like scrooge let the peasants go hungry and homeless. The only thing Noonan is concerned about is the Dow Jones and his own stock holdings. Keep the recovery going for the bondholders himself included.
And a pat on his baldy thug head from his Bilderberg masters. Big and brave in front of Hep C infected women but a pushover puppy dog in front of his owners in the Elites.
‘But that figure is falling’. How much of that fall is ‘catching up’ and how much is settlement through repossession?
“Last month, Noonan received the report which detailed what changes must be made to ensure more families do not have their homes repossessed.”
A full month and a taxpayer funded report is being sat on. This is not happening for all the right reasons.
I remember fondly the promises in 2011 of a revolution in politics and a new era of openness and transparency that was promised by FG.
Is it just me or is it taking a tremendously long time to happen?
@For Connolly:
It’s not you.
But to be fair, they lied about everything else to get their snouts in the trough so this is nothing special. At least they are consistent.
@For Connolly:
More fool you for expecting it. And me. And loads of us….Nevermind.
If the number is declining are the figures for homelessness and new families cast into the private renter grinder rising commensurately?
Very worrying stat from Mr Hall who runs irish Mortgage holders association and who was brought in during the charity Console crisis to mediate who said 40k houses are moving to repossession stage. Anyone in trouble it might be worthwhile contacting the above. He has assisted 3k mortgage holders to date. Imagine if these 40k are pushed onto rental market? He said the process of home repossession takes 7 years so we have a huge amount due in ’17 and ’18. Depressing stuff
@saoirse janneau: David Hall is excellent but the banks are inexorably moving to repossess and to evict a minimum of 18,000 family homes and about 9,000 of buy to lets in 2017. 2018 will be the peak.
The only thing slowing this down is Court resources and limitation on enforcement resources.
The Banks are ruthless.
I don’t know where the dispossessed borrowers and families and tenants will live and how they will afford escalating rents.
There is very little fairness and no social justice in Ireland.
These are predatory and exploitative times.
Still, if you vote for capitalism, you get capitalism. No point in complaining about what you vote for.
You can still get tracker rates in England . HSBC do 1.79% above BoE for the term.
Irish banks are fleecing their customers ( and me) to make up for the losses they made during the crises. They say they lose on trackers but I don’t believe that.
Landlords that don’t get full mortgage payment have to top it up and at end of year have to pay tax on the rent they take in….not right
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