‘Tsunami of repossessions fuelling homelessness emergency’

Nearly 200 faily homes were repossessed in Dublin and Cork in the first half of this year, Fianna Fáil warned as it urged greater help for struggling mortgagees.

Senator Darragh O’Brien said a tsunami of such repossessions was fuelling the homelessness emergency, as he called on Environment Minister Alan Kelly to get a “grip” on the situation.

Mr O’Brien said Court Service figures showed that 616 family homes were subject to repossession orders in the first half of 2015.

Of these, 97 were in Dublin, and 91 in Cork. A further 284 properties, including buy-to-lets and holiday homes, were repossessed across the country.

Another 3,395 properties were served with civil bills, the first step to repossession, between January and June this year, Mr O’Brien said.

“We are seeing a tsunami of home repossessions sweeping the country. The fact that over 600 family homes have already been repossessed since the start of the year is extremely worrying, but what is even more worrying is that 3,395 cases are currently being processed.

“The problem of long-term arrears needs urgent action. There are 37,933 owner-occupiers more than two years behind in their mortgage payments. This category now constitutes 36% of all accounts in arrears, and 79% of arrears outstanding. The IMF has noted that mortgages continue to move into long-terms arrears and said the problem ‘will require intensified and sustained efforts’ from the authorities here.

“More and more families are finding themselves with nowhere to go as their homes face repossession and they cannot afford inflated rents. We have seen a 55% surge in the number of homeless families since the start of the year.”

Mr O’Brien accused Mr Kelly of not taking the situation seriously enough and said he should cut short his summer break to deal with the problem.

“How bad does this have to get before Minister Alan Kelly comes out of hiding? How bad does it have to get before the Government starts taking this emergency seriously? It’s now eight months since the disturbing death of homeless man Jonathan Corrie, forcing the Government into a series of press conferences and empty promises of action. Not a single thing has been done since then and the situation has got immeasurably worse,” Mr O’Brien claimed.

Rent supplements need to be boosted in order to stem the tide of evictions, Mr O’Brien added.