West Tyrone Sinn Fein Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Mortgage relief proposals must be forthcoming - Sinn Féin

Published: 15 August, 2008

Sinn Fein Omagh town councillor Sean Begley has said Social Development minister Margaret Richie must bring forward and implement proposals aimed at addressing the growing mortgage crisis.

Tough credit conditions and rising inflation means that homes are being repossessed with people unable to keep up with mortgage payments. Borrowers are also suffering because they are currently unable to remortgage their house given the current conditions in the market.

According to councillor Begley 100 homes are being repossessed per month and the number of writs has increased considerably in the past year.

Councillor Begley said both lenders and the Social Development minister have a part to play in this:

"I would urge lenders to treat their costumers fairly at this difficult time. Given current market conditions lenders must be sympathetic and help costumers who are finding it hard to makes ends meet. The price of living has gone up considerably in the past year this has a knock on effect and leaves many unable to keep up with mortgage payments.

"I am also urging Margaret Richie to act now. A number of months back the Social Development Minister announced that she and her department would be addressing this issue through a Mortgage Relief Scheme. However we have yet to see any of this materialise. We have yet to see proposals brought forward to deal with the crisis. The minister needs to bring forward proposals and deal with this as a matter of urgency. The longer her proposed scheme gathers dust many more people will unfortunately see their homes and possessions repossessed due to this crisis"