Fianna Fáil Warn Of 'Tsunami' Of Home Repossessions

New figures showing an increase in the number of new cases of home repossessions have been described as a "tsunami" by Fianna Fáil.

Figures from the Court Service show that 616 homes were the subject of repossession orders in the first six months of this year and orders were granted against a further 284 other properties during the period. Dublin and Cork households were particularly hard hit, with 97 families losing their home in Dublin and 91 in Cork over the period.

Fianna Fáil claim that their analysis of the figures shows that there will be a "serious deterioration of the situation in the last few months of the year".

The parties spokesperson on Dublin, Darragh O'Brien, said: "We are seeing a tsunami of home repossessions sweeping the country. The problem of long term arrears needs urgent action.

"More and more families are finding themselves with nowhere to go as their homes face repossession and they cannot afford inflated rents. We have seen a 55% surge in the number of homeless families since the start of the year.

"The failure to tackle the mortgage crisis is playing a significant role in these appalling figures. Last week my colleague Jack Chambers revealed that a family were forced to sleep in an industrial unit after the credit card used for emergency accommodation in Dublin maxed out. This week a family of five were forced to sleep in a Dublin park as they couldn't find anywhere to stay.

"How bad does this have to get before Minister Alan Kelly comes out of hiding? How bad does it have to get before the Government starts taking this emergency seriously?

"It's now eight months since the disturbing death of homeless man Jonathan Corrie, forcing the forced the Government into a series of press conferences and promises of action to tackle the homeless crisis.

"These promises turned out to be completely empty as not a single thing has been done since then. And the situation has got immeasurably worse."

(MH/JP)