In Ireland the number of repossessions has traditionally been low, and while it has increased in the past two years, in 2011 it still amounted to less than 1 per cent of the number of mortgages. For owner-occupied houses the traditional Irish reluctance to foreclose is certainly not misplaced.
There is every reason to play long when it comes to managing a distressed owner-occupier mortgage: versions of the split mortgage concept mentioned by the Keane Committee, which reduce current servicing costs of the debt to manageable levels for households that have had suffered adverse income shocks but with the potential for some clawback if house value and household income recover, while a bit complex to implement, could be the key to a satisfactory solution for all, including the State.