Experts: ‘Mortgage arrears haven’t gone away’

The running sore of mortgage arrears — eight years after the onset of the financial crisis — is back on top of the political agenda as Independent TDs negotiate their participation in a new government, the Irish Examiner has learned.

The Independent Alliance of six TDs is seeking to strike a new agreement over the banks’ balance sheets and secure a “new deal” for the many thousands who are struggling with home-loan debt.

Documents have passed between Independent TDs and Fine Gael negotiators, including Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, over the last three weeks.