Banks and developers bailed out, so should struggling mortgage holders

WHILE undoubtedly very important, it may not be quite correct to say that “mortgage arrears is the single biggest issue currently facing Irish people”, as Taoiseach Enda Kenny said last Tuesday in the Dáil.

The euro crisis, clearly, is bigger, and even if it wasn’t there are many people who think the home loans crisis has nothing to do with them.

After all, one third of all homeowners in Ireland have no mortgage at all. Many more have very small mortgages or, even if large, that are still less than the price that would be achieved in the emergency sale of their home. Many others rent. To them this is a crisis to other people.