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People put under financial terror have taken the step to take their own lives.
SENATOR DAVID NORRIS let rip on the banks, vulture funds and the government for allowing those in mortgage arrears languish in debt with no solution.
Under this Bill the National Housing Co-Operative would purchase the properties and the related debt from the various lending bodies – such as banks and vulture funds.
The capital required would be raised by the issue of a 20-year Secured Property Bond, secured by the properties acquired by co-op from existing lending agencies and underpinned by a guarantee issued by the European Investment Fund (EIF).
The sum required to purchase the portfolio of distressed home mortgage loans is estimated at €5 billion.
Norris explained that it would allow people remain in their homes and give them the opportunity to own their homes through writing new mortgage contracts over maximum of 30 years.
This Bill is particularly timely, due to AIB unloading their shares, which Norris said will “create a potential avalanche” in homelessness.
Giving an emotional contribution in the Seanad, Norris questioned how vulture funds were even allowed into the country.
“I find it astonishing that an Irish Republic stand over evictions,” he said, adding that vulture funds were invited in to pick ”up the slack” for “vulgar profiteering”.
He went on to say he respected the former Finance Minister Michael Noonan, but added that he could not understand his thinking on this issue.
It’s on the Dáil record that officials in the Department of Finance met with private equity vulture firms 65 times in 2013 and 2014, with Noonan attending eight of those meetings.
“I don’t understand how the bloody vulture funds got into his country in the first place… how anyone can say they are good idea, because they cleaned up corpses – how could anyone make such a gaf,” he asked.
“What we are talking about is the corpses of the well-being of the Irish people.”
Breaking down some of the stats, Central Bank figures show there are 41,000 mortgages that have been in arrears for a year or more, with 5.6% of all mortgages in arrears for that period.
“We are dealing with human people, with human misery. When I look at the ECB (European Central Bank) I have to say, it makes me grimace,” said Norris, stating “it’s like forcing the Jews to pay for their own execution”.
Highlighting some of the country’s stark history when it comes to landowners and evictions, he said he finds it “astonishing” that an Irish Republic would stand over evictions.
“There is a thing in Ireland about owning your land and owning your own home,” he added.
“With regards the banks – they have learned nothing. They are precisely the same as they were before the crisis,” said the senator, adding that they are unleashing “financial terror” on people.
The Green Party and Solidarity-People Before Profit are supporting Bill, while it is understood the government are opposing it due to its “unaffordablity”, with one government source stating that it would create an indeterminate demand of the limited fiscal resources and the Bill would interfere with negotiations ongoing between lenders and mortgage holders.
Speaking at the launch of the Bill yesterday, homeless activist Father Peter McVerry said he did not know why anyone in Ireland could not support this Bill.
The Bill is supported by groups such as Right2Homes, the Peter McVerry Trust, Focus Ireland, Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation, Irish Homeowners Unite, The Friends of Banking and the Public Banking Forum Ireland.
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Still nothing will be done…
@Ciaran Rooney: the same argument he makes could apply to the banks…billions paid out and they still $h1t on our heads and reward themselves with obscene bonuses.
@Ciaran Rooney: And what exactly would you like to be done. A situation where no one will pay their mortgage at all with no consequences. That would be utopia for us all but the reality is life is not like that. We all have to pay our way and the sooner the scroungers of the country who think everything should be handed to them for nothing realise that the better.
@mickmc: did you even read the article?
Mortgage holders in arrears are not scroungers as you put it. They saved and worked hard and had appropriate earnings to be granted a mortgage. The fact the bubble burst and some people lost jobs and fell into arrears does not make them scroungers
@mickmc: Banks didn’t pay their debts. Developers didn’t pay the billions they owed, NAMA can gift an 18 billion lose to the taxpayer, vulture funds make millions and pay 1 euro per million tax. Banks are engaged in wholesale mortgage fraud, where people pay more than they were contracted to. The mortgage contracts as used by Irish banks are illegal and contravene EU consumer protection law. Irish banks also charge much higher rates than Euriopean banks. And all you can come up with is a failed tired excuse. The parasites and scroungers are the banks,and vulture funds. They got everything handed to them for nothing. Not people struggling to pay an iffy mortgage contract.
@mickmc: I see your point but the other option is people get evicted, the banks sell their home for profit and the government gets landed housing them with your taxes. Why not let people stay in their homes and extend their mortgage to an affordable rate. The article says nothing about people getting their homes for free. At least with this option it’s a win, win situation for the tax payer.
@Trevor Beale: Banks as soon as the Registrar or Circuit court judge grant an eviction order, get the mortgage paid in full by their insurance company. The full amount, not less what has been paid off the mortgage, which can be a substantial amount. So they now are in huge profit and can afford to sell the home on to vulture funds at a huge discount.
On the non performing mortgages or other mortgages the banks sell on to vulture funds. They do not pass on the Insurance taken out by the mortgagee to cover the mortgage taken out. The banks are retaining these illegally for their own use. This scandal is being kept very quite. It’s naked theft. Yet you see who the neoliberal fan mickmc above calls scroungers.
@Gerry Fitz: All you hear all day every day on sites like this is excuse. Blame everyone else. No one put a gun to anyone head and forced them to take out an over priced mortgage. Everyone that took out one was an adult and in the adult world your suppose to take adult responsibilities. Bankers, politicians or any other people you care to blame for your misfortune are only red herrings. Time for people to grow up and realise that economic has no mercy.
Mickmc. Troll.
@mickmc: Address the issues mickmc. You’re excusing the banks and government by trying to lay the blame on ordinary people.
It’s time the government grew up and stopped the wholesale mortgage fraud being engaged in by the banks. It’s also time the government stopped the banks using illegal mortgage contracts.
You talk about “adult responsibilities” yet the government allows banks to totally forget about their responsibilities to deal with people in a fair and above board manner.
Bring in the EU legislation that applies to banks and mortgage contracts.
@ray.farrelly: Not so much a troll, Ray, as he has blind faith in the neoliberal policies of the government.
@Dave Doyle: The only issue here is people are not paying their mortgages and bank are doing exactly what they said they would in the contract that every mortgage holder signed. If people can’t genuinely afford their mortgage on a long term basis maybe it time to consider selling up.
@ray.farrelly: How exactly do you define a Troll.
@mickmc: How many of those that fell behind and were evicted were down the banks illegally overcharging? 100′s? 1000′s?
@mickmc: This isn’t about people not paying their mortgages. It’s about people paying their mortgages being pushed into arrears by bank fraud. Bank fraud aided and abbeted by a neoliberal government.
You’re just unwilling to deal with the real issues surrounding banks and mortgage fraud. It will undo the neoliberal policies you support.
@mickmc: absolute troll, ignore.
@mickmc: I am scared to write because i will be accused of being a Troll.
i am old maybe but the luxury of new houses in ireland is unbelievable and 2 cars outside the door, i never had a loan in my life and drive a banger,,apartments in ireland are another rip-off..
@Michael Heery: I wouldn’t let some of the keyboard warrior on this site put you off expressing your opinion. It called freedom of expression. There is a lot bitter and negative commentators on here alright but at the end of the day that’s their problem. You tell it like you see it and to hell with the begrudgers.
@Dave Doyle: incorrect Dave. Banks do not have insurance against mortgage default. One off the founding principles of insurance is you cannot profit from a loss. It was probably written somewhere incorrectly and you have taken it as fact. Either that or you just made it up to suit your own leftie agenda.
@Dario Fo: I don’t have the money to be a vulture but if I did your right I’d quiet happily buy a few distressed property’s and try and to make a profit on them. Can’t see what the problem is, it’s just business.
@Gerry Fitz: Do you not think people need to be responsible for their own financial situation? I hear stories everyday of people who go in to their local credit union saying “we can’t afford to pay back”, they are asked for bank statements, bill etc so they can be helped come up with a financial plan to pay it back and you find out they are paying 120 a month to sky and the same people lose the rag when it’s suggested they should get rid of it. If you can’t afford it you should lose it, how can it work any other way
& mickmac …. Jog on neoliberal troll !
FG along with Labour invited, encouraged and with generous tax payer contributions gifted these vulture funds charity status so they could avoid any tax.
@tom: yes, tax preferential status, cheap spurces of finance and the capacity to buy large property portfolios or major distressed loans confers preferential advantage.
More and more rented accomodation in Ireland is falling into foreign ownership and control.
We are reinventing the absentee landlords of the 18th and 19 centuries for the 21st century.
@Tony Daly: and the people once again are reduced to mere tenants in their own country.
@Tony Daly: thats the Blue shirts for you ,
They have likely cost billions and turned our housing crisis into a national emergency. All with the cover and blessing of FF/FG/Labour, who turned a blind eye to teh warnings and tax loopholes.
@The Risen: the tax loopholes were intentionally preserved.
Best little country for a predatory and exploitative vulture fund to do “business” in.
Noonan and Kenny enriched a highly privileged few at the expense of the many.
@The Risen: Ive seen you commenting on many political themed articles with equally as many responses from shinnerbashers, but I find it funny now how there doesn’t seem to be many commenting on this article.
@Dilly Phun: The Blueshirts at HQ go on a smoke break every time an article like this appears. They pretend it has nothing to do with their actions.
FG and FF have a superb reputation except in the areas of health, education, transport, financial regulation, housing, social inclusion, justice, law enforcement, integrity and freedom from corruption.
@Tony Daly: Has to be one of the finest speaches ever. Thank you David. Well said, well said.
@Tony Daly: Was out protesting heavily 2012-2014 with Diarmuid from “Ballyhea” cork even went 2 Frankfurt with him 2 protest at ECB. At that time i foresaw many evictions. I developed a mathematical formula for a write down of mortgage negative equity inversely proportional to income whilst eliminating the risk of “moral hazard”. I sent it to FG and FG.FG no response. Micheal McGrath FF did at least respond but no action yet.
@Tony Daly: http://www.msn.com/en-ie/money/news/central-banks-raise-alarm-over-new-crash-after-steep-rise-in-lending/ar-BBDeNmv?li=AA56Yk&ocid=spartandhp Are we ready for another meltdown?
FG, sold their own people into slavery and their houses to the vulture funds.
@Damien Aulsberry: Noonan doesn’t give a shite about us now.He has his money made.His pension is secure,his bonds have been cashed(probably tax free),we can go try and sort out the mess he created.Off to a golden retirement like the rest of the leeches who sucked our country dry for decades.
@Billy McNamara:
Today’s politician’s are tomorrows, Bank’s Board of Management Billy. Kenny walking away with 125 grand a year for life is hard to take but this is taking the piss…
http://www.thejournal.ie/kenny-says-he-will-defer-e100k-pension-lump-sum-until-he-leaves-politics-87736-Feb2011/
Norris, of no use to any living being..
@Bewarethebeardz: Tell that to the gay community, for whom he fought tirelessly to have homosexuality decriminalized for.
Done much for humanity/society yourself lately?
@Bewarethebeardz: at least he’s raising the issue
@Bewarethebeardz: hear hear!!
So 5billion would help the ordinary person who paid the price for the bust..kinda seems small change compared to what the Banks got..fair play senator Norris..hope you succeed.
That’s Ireland for you the people been robbed not only in housing but health car tax insurance price of goods petrol and stealth taxes everywhere when are we going to put a stop to this ?
A free market, capitalist economy which protects capital at the expense of labour will have no compunction in allowing so called “vulture” funds pick at the carcasses of non performing loans and cheap multi occupant housing.
It’s all about private property rights prevailing over public polic and the public good.
@Tony Daly: please add to the vulture list, funding the purchase of religious order’s land to develop new rental properties. It’s tax free breaks for all and the removal of publicly used green spaces for the tax payers.
Talk about closing the gate when the horse has bolted!!
Because this country is corrupt mr norris ,did no-one tell you or did you not get the memo,dear oh dear
Not often I find myself in agreement with the Master of Operatic Indignation.
Well said Mr. Bloom.
He is 100% right, his Hart is in the right place but the rant is years late.
I was with you David, right up until “He went on to say he respected the former Finance Minister Michael Noonan” then you lost all credibility!
The eviction bill went through both houses. And now they shout? Something to pass the time in the Seanad eh???
David Norris … a referendum is required in Ireland to give family homes the status they have in the German Constitution. Unless the Irish grasp this they will remain forever at the mercy of vultures …
https://www.change.org/p/referendum-on-family-home-special-status-in-ireland
Vulture funds are the handmaidens of naked, exploitative and predatory capitalism.
@Tony Daly: Acc. Noonan there was no time to give discounts to Irish people, way too much admin you know, sell em off in large batches. Anyway with Irish people we have to think of moral hazard you know but not for foreign vulture funds yadayada.
“People put under financial terror have made steps to take their own lives” there’s the heading after the YouTube clip in this article, and it needs to be read by begrudgers who constantly hammer up people that tried to do the right thing for their families,it can be unfortunate when people lose their job n may not be able to get back into line of work that they were in,n it can take time to get re-skilled in another type of work or maybe other genuine circumstances ,but try tell that to banks who only like to pile misery on people by only giving them crap options of maybe extending your mortgage, interest only all to the benefit of the banks,so at the end of the day this headline needs to be treated with a bit more compassion as when a person takes their own lives it can have a devastating effect on families and we need someone to step up to the plate and highlight what’s going on…..
Action speaks louder than words ,we should have been on the streets years ago ,The irish always pick the wrong causes when they feel like rebelling .
HOW MANY TDs in present DAIL are LANDLORDS?????????
@Sean Callan: How many TDs in the Dáil were elected by the people? What do we mean by democracy?
All seems a bit late now.
I’m assuming it’s a rhetorical question. Everyone knows they are here to buy property on the cheap to clear out the bad loans in the banks and try to make the banks balance sheet look healthy.
@Stephen Brady: vulture funds are not trying to cure the balance sheets of banks.
Vulture funds opportunistically and exploitatively leverage :-
1. Tax preferential treatment
2. Very cheap cost of funds
3. Very lax and promLandlord and Tenant laws
4. Specially designed corporate vehicles designed to facilitate their activities
5. Unregulated status
So as to gain massive and predatory returns on comparatively low risk investment
I’ve never heard these investment funds executives say, let’s get together and help out those poor and unfortunate Irish banks for the benefit of the Irish public using our own money to help out.
@Tony Daly: they employ lots of ex-nama and bankers with inside knowledge,,
There’s an even bigger danger in the future from these foreign vulture funds when they cash in their investments . They’ve bought property’s for between 10% and 20% of their value. When they cash in their investments billions will flood out of this country. Which could cause another crash.
Norris is he still alive? I though he was on the way out a few years back. Must be on the mend if he back to having his little hissy fits.
@mickmc: Norris is still alive, so is Kenny, Noonan, Gilmore, Rabbitte, Burton, Howlin etc. All living the good life on the backs of the taxpayer.
Hundreds, if not many more, are dead. Their lives taken by their own hands because of the actions of banks and vulture funds. Aided and abetted by those named above.
@Dave Doyle: No Dave they’re dead because they choose to take their own lives. It about time people in this country started taking responsibility for their own actions.
@mickmc: fair play hope it never comes knocking on your door
Ah the oul “nobody forced you to buy the house, Gun to the Head” line, give it a rest, the only guns that should of been used here should of been to kill the vultures before they landed here…..maybe a bit late from Norris but lets hope some good comes from it
I hope he keeps at them.someone has to.its disgraceful.Banks have ruined lives here in Ireland.Shame on them.heartless cruel ghouls.
Laughing at people’s misery.
A mortgage is a pretty comprehensive contract, laid out for people to read at their leisure before signing it in order to acquire what they cannot afford nor weather over the long term.
Being an adult comes with responsibilities.
That your debt gets sold to someone else seeking to use that same contract you agreed to is hardly unfair.
@alphanautica: “gets sold AT A MASSIVE DISCOUNT to someone else”. Fixed that for you. Now what was that about adult responsibility again?
@Anthony Halpin: how is that relevant? You signed for the number you wanted to pay, totally of your own free will.
@Anthony Halpin: Agree. FG promised 1 thing in 2011 – remember Leo Varadkar “not another cent to the banks” speach – see utube – but did a Full 180 Degree turn. Evicted people took their properties sold em 4 peanuts to Vulture Funds.
What short memories people have. House prices were down 50% and commercial property prices down 75%. Pension funds were decimated by RE and bank share holdings and bank were both insolvent and illiquid prior to NAMA being formed. There was no capital in the country. Vulture Funds at the time were called Private Equity. They along with the ECB/EU/IMF were the only providers of capital. There was NO capital within Ireland. Ireland was possibly going to have to leave the Euro if it wanted to do a bank default i.e not bailout the banks like Iceland. This was widely discussed. Now 7 years later everyone is experts on what should have happened. The mistake was not that distressed private equity players came into Ireland, but that they were not taxed on their gains. I would ask anyone that is so wise on what should have happened to head off now and buy some shares in a Greek banks etc given they ar such experts on what should happen in periods of uncertainty
A man I respect and admire greatly, sadly allowing vulture funds in helped the government kick the can into someone else’s Garden. My how the former Senator “gwango Ross” has become part of the establishment, should, but won’t be ashamed of himself.
I bet this guy has at least 5 books at home on “How To Be a Powerful Orator” and stuff like that.
Why are you only speaking out now ?
Why haven’t you been so vocal over the last number of years ?
To fund Joycean poseurs.
All the homes that have been repossessed should be CPOd at the price that the vultures paid for them, and handed back to the original occupants. The vultures would then never come back.
We have Parasites running our country
a decade late for a bunch of gold parachute “civil servants” to get on their high horse. Where have they been hiding for the past decade…for those that are elected, they smell an election coming soon so need to show they “tried” to do something.. Shame on these miserable F**Kers. Reform Seanad Éireann
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