‘Tactics of colonial lackeys’ used to repossess homes

One of the country’s most senior trade unionists has accused the Government of “reverting to the tactics of colonial lackeys” by calling for the rate of house repossessions to be increased.

On Thursday John Moran, secretary general of the Department of Finance, told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee that repossession rates here were unnaturally low by international standards and that taxpayers could not continue to subsidise those living in accommodation beyond their means.

Siptu president Jack O’Connor said calls to intensify the rate of evictions was “reprehensible and barbaric”.