From last week’s presentation to the Oireachtas finance committee by the Governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, the Taoiseach will be aware there are now more than 97,400 mortgages in arrears for over 90 days. The Central Bank is warning of a €9.3 billion mortgage debt mountain. The Governor is very unhappy with the response of the banks to this particular crisis which is causing immense distress to thousands of families, affecting their capacity in terms of day-to-day living.

He confirmed that, at the end of June, 74,000 of the 98,000 mortgage holders in arrears for more than 90 days were not yet in arrangements with their lenders. Effectively, 75% of distressed mortgages are not being dealt with. That is an extraordinary revelation by the Central Bank Governor and causes deep concern across the country. He also accused the main banks of engaging in wishful thinking that the mortgage arrears crisis would cure itself. What is more alarming is that not only are the banks not moving fast enough to tackle the problem but that the majority are going down the repossession or surrender route. Almost two thirds of mortgage holders in arrears have been threatened with legal action. Of the 35,000 proposed resolutions offered by the banks by the end of June, 62% referred to surrender or repossession of property.

The Taoiseach has said time and time again that repossession would be the last resort. We now know that repossession and evictions are the first resort, not the last as promised by the Government. Will the Taoiseach intervene and establish an independent office to deal with this issue once and for all and ensure those in mortgage arrears get a fair hearing from their banks?

First, the entire mortgage and banking crisis is the central issue of the legacy this Government inherited.

Change the tape. Change the record.

To sit back and do nothing about it would make the situation even worse. I dealt with the mortgage crisis when Deputy Martin asked a question about it yesterday. It is not true to say that the first port of call is repossession. The family home in this country is of fundamental and immense importance to people and their families.

That is why the Government amended legislation to make it easier for repossessions.

Quiet now, Timmy. Quiet.

Will Deputy Dooley stay quiet?

I am just helping the Taoiseach in answering the question.

Timmy, debate is not allowed.

He does not need your help.

That is the point we are making.

Does the Taoiseach admit to that?

Will the Taoiseach confirm that? Is it that he does not know?

Of these, 24,000 are new structures in the last quarter. I have to assume, without the verifiable audit from the Central Bank, that these are sustainable solutions for the borrower and lender which everyone wants to see.

The only solution is eviction and repossession.

The Central Bank has confirmed that 76.5% of the stock of restructures is deemed to be meeting the terms of the restructured arrangements.

From looking at the entire catastrophic mess that Deputy Martin’s party left behind, we have put in place a series of options, including the personal insolvency arrangements, which will provide an answer to everyone’s problems.

This Government has made matters worse.

To those listening, the first imperative is there is engagement between the borrower and lender. Somebody has to sit down and see if they can cut a deal which is in the interests of the borrower and the lender. In cases where people use the Personal Insolvency Agency, the insolvency practitioners will go through all the circumstances pertaining to each person to ensure the best option can be put in place for them.

Thank you.

I am not happy that the banks have not measured up in the way we would like.

Do something about it then.

They themselves have their problems in that their people had become used to throwing out money all over the place without being able to deal with the crisis and the consequences of that.

Yes, there are people in mortgage distress. However, this is the evidence from the Governor of the Central Bank as a consequence of the actions put in place by the Government. The Central Bank is the regulator and requires the banks to meet their targets on mortgage arrears and will audit the figures they submit.

The Taoiseach has failed to make any meaningful impact on the mortgage arrears issue.

That is a bit rich coming from Deputy Martin.

He does not take any responsibility for this.

The number of mortgage arrears over 90 days has quadrupled since 2009. It is getting much worse by the day. The Governor of the Central Bank said last week that despite all our efforts far too many arrears cases still remain untreated. Essentially, what he said was tantamount to an admission of failure on this issue. Up to 35,000 proposed resolutions offered by the banks to the end of June referred to surrender or repossession of property.

No surrender.

These are the Governor’s statistics. How can the Taoiseach credibly claim repossessions are a last resort when the evidence from the Central Bank is the opposite? The banks first and foremost are referring people to repossession or surrender of property. That is the reality. The problem is that the Taoiseach surrendered control of this to the banks and put them into the driving seat with legislation after the Dunne judgment and by diluting the protection to the consumers under the mortgage arrears code of conduct. There is a major issue here.

Even Mattie is quiet.

Is Deputy Reilly still giving out the medical cards?

This problem is getting much worse by the day.

It is a bit rich coming from Deputy Martin when last week he admitted openly that he allowed a situation to develop where taxes became too low, public spending became too high and his Government lost control while billions of euro were wasted.

That was then; this is now. The Taoiseach is going back to the past.

A member of that Government was the first to admit, from this seat, that the Government needed no more taxes and that we had enough stamp duty to run the country, and started a housing crisis.

The Taoiseach was bidding at every auction.

The figures I have given are the authentic figures from the Governor of the Central Bank. If Deputy Martin wants to say the Governor is not telling us the facts, he should say so.

The Taoiseach is saying that.

Some 80,000 mortgages have been restructured, with 24,000 new restructures in the last quarter. The Central Bank has indicated that 76.5% of those restructures were deemed to meet the terms of sustainable and restructured arrangements. That fact is verified by the Central Bank.

Does the Taoiseach accept the figure of 35,000 from the Governor?

The Central Bank is to audit the figures submitted by the banks to the Central Bank as their regulator. We will know the true facts when it does that.

Did the Taoiseach read the presentation to the Oireachtas committee on this?

It takes a long time to uncover the dark depths of what Deputy Martin's Government left behind here.

It is getting worse.

The people of this country will never let Fianna Fáil forget that its conduct has wreaked havoc and caused crises in family after family. This Government has put in place a suite of measures - a range of options - that will allow for those persons who are in distress with their mortgages to have one of these solutions put in place to get them out of it.

The Government has put the banks in the driving seat.

I do not accept Deputy Martin's assertion that this Government has done nothing about it. I am not happy with the situation that the banks have not come up to the mark.

The Taoiseach is not happy with himself.

They have all the options. They have the suite of measures. The regulator is the Central Bank.

The Taoiseach left the banks alone and did not engage with them. He washed his hands of this issue.

With Deputy Martin's style of engagement, he never listens to anybody.

Would Members please stay quiet? I repeat what I said last week. There are time limits for asking and answering questions. Would Members please adhere to them or ask the Whips to change the time allocated? Would Members please allow Deputy Adams to ask a question? They are not impressing anybody.

Deputy Martin was never here when there was trouble. He was in America.