Or course they have a veto.

That provides an incentive for banks to sit down with clients to deal with their particular problems by means of the wide variety of opportunities such as those outlined in the Keane report and elsewhere to restructure and re-engineer their mortgages which are in distress.

The Deputy's rant about evictions and house repossessions is nonsensical. I note that even his own spokesman on finance, when pressed in a recent interview, said repossessions would take place in a small number of cases - this is how everyone understands it to be - where no effort had been made to repay mortgages in cases where it was possible to repay them.

I reiterate for the Deputy that 65% of property tax revenue this year, rising to 80%, will be retained by the local authorities in the areas in which the property tax is paid for the provision of services and infrastructure.

We need to deal with the substance of these issues. For a man from County Mayo, to even suggest eviction from or repossession of a family home - even if the number is small - would be justifiable is totally and absolutely reprehensible. Rather than jibing at us, I ask the Taoiseach to deal with the substance. One in four mortgage holders is in distress. People have had tax upon tax imposed upon them. They cannot pay it. That is the reality.

What we have argued for is the establishment of a statutorily independent body that would impose settlements which would be legally binding agreements between mortgage holders and the banks and which would include - the Government has ruled this out - write-downs, where appropriate. What we are seeking would deal with the substance of the problem. The Government has a veto, but it has given this to the banks. It should now remove it. On the numerous occasions on which I have raised the issue the Taoiseach has stated the regulator does not want the Government to intervene and that, therefore, it cannot do anything. The Government has done very little of substance in order to put manners on the banks.

Those in Sinn Féin did a bit of that themselves.

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance must put the entire issue of a family's right to a home on a legislative footing. The assurance that the Government has not yet given must be provided now. The Taoiseach should not wait until the afternoon. He should stand up and clearly state there will be no forced repossessions of family homes.

I understand the history and tradition to which the Deputy refers. I recall the stories in my part of the country, particularly that relating to one of the great initiators of the agrarian movement, Michael Davitt, whose family were evicted from the family home at Straide. I understand the point Deputy Gerry Adams is making very well.

The Taoiseach should not let it happen again on his watch.

I have no intention of doing so.

A voice from the wilderness.

Making a direct allegation.

On Monday last, 11 March, when asked a question on a national radio programme as to whether repossession should ever be an option in the case of the family home, Sinn Féin's spokesman on finance stated it should be an option but only in extreme circumstances. He also indicated that there had to be legal protection and legislative provision to the effect that banks could not swoop in and purchase homes. He went on to state the option of repossession had to be available to a bank if somebody with an ability to pay his or her mortgage was not doing so. The individual in question was asked, "So you are not ruling it out?" to which he replied that repossession should happen "Only for somebody who is completely defaulting on their mortgage and who has an ability to pay." Deputy Gerry Adams should not come before the House and state he has a new version of what his party's spokesman said on Monday.

We have a very clear perspective of what is required and the Government should have one, too.

I wish to make it perfectly clear that the Government wants there to be a fair and transparent process for dealing with mortgages. What we want to do is get the people whose mortgages are either in arrears or distress to the point where they can enjoy the psychological relief to the effect that their homes will not be taken from them and where they can contribute to their local economies and live their lives. That is the reason the Minister for Finance and the Government, working with the Central Bank, are putting in place all of the arrangements that will be announced later today. Under these arrangements, targets and timelines will be set by the banks which now have staff who are trained to deal with the circumstances under discussion which are unique in each case. The repossession of family homes will be the very last resort. No Member of the House wants to see homes being repossessed. However, even the Deputy's party recognises that repossession will occur in a small number of cases.

People have a right to a family home.

The Family Home Protection Act is on the Statute Book and the property rights of every citizen are protected under the Constitution.

Deputy Gerry Adams should read the Constitution.

What is happening today is part of the strategy and process of restructuring and recapitalising banks and providing alternatives for people through the personal insolvency agency which will open its doors shortly. In order to rectify matters, we are seeking to make available a variety of ways by which banks can work out more appropriate, convenient and suitable arrangements for those clients whose mortgages have, for whatever reason, gone into arrears or become distressed. Everyone wants the economy to move on. This is a problem and in the past two years the Government has put in place structures to rectify it. These structures will be detailed later today by the Minister for Finance when he speaks on this matter.