Mortgage debt - Reasonable measures

It seemed incongruous that the public were being called on to rescue the banks while no provisions were being implemented to protect members of the public from the banks, if they came down heavily on individuals in financial difficulties in the midst of the current economic downturn.

In many instances people were enticed into excessive debt by the easy facilities being provided by lenders during the property boom.

The Central Bank and Financial Regulator have suggested new proposals to protect people who get into difficulties with their mortgage repayments. They have called for an agreed definition to be formulated as to when payments should be considered in arrears, because various institutions are currently using different criteria.