Deputy Eamonn Maloney has called on all politicians to work together and participate in finding a resolution to the issue of mortgage arrears.

Mr Maloney said: "While I acknowledge that no one person has a monopoly of wisdom on this issue, we must realise there is an onus on each independent parliamentarian to deal with it. The fact remains that the mortgage arrears problem is unprecedented in the history of the State. Therefore, we each must take responsibility ourselves for what happened while also take responsibility for finding the solutions to it.

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"While some progress has been made by Government on mortgage arrears recently, we must realise that the mortgage crisis comes in different levels and therefore it requires a multi-faceted response. All politicians have worked with people affected by mortgage distress and can verify that not alone are there financial implications, there are also physical and psychological effects. We have all met individuals who have voluntarily surrendered their homes because of the scale of the problems. This was not an easy thing to do, particularly if there are children in the household. It can be a difficult and traumatic experience for all members of the family.

"It is a fact that there have been no evictions from homes despite the state of the economy. However some Opposition members use emotive language and words such as "eviction" for pure political gain. This is reprehensible and indicates a mentality that is not interested in solving the crisis."

(CD/JP)