Banks put the squeeze on Galway families in mortgage arrears

The banks have initiated court proceedings against 70 homeowners in Galway who are in mortgage arrears in the past fortnight alone.

The listing in court hearing is the first legal step by the financial institutions to repossess homes from owners in arrears. In Mayo, more than 100 house repossessions have been instigated in the past two weeks.

New Beginnings, debt advice organisation, says the dire situation in Galway, and nationally, is set to deteriorate further.

It estimates that hundreds of repossession orders were sought in Galway since last year, and more are expected in the coming weeks and months in Galway as banks go ‘heavy-handed’ to recoup debt.

There had been a ‘stay’ on home repossessions for the guts of two and a half years after New Beginnings successfully stopped one case of repossession after finding a loophole in the law.

The loophole has since been closed, however, prompting a flood of home repossessions cases going before the courts.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.