TDS ACROSS ALL parties and none were asked today to contribute to a new bill brought before the Dáil with the aim of keeping people in Ireland in their homes.

The bill was written by Master of the High Court Edmund Honohan and introduced in the Dáil chamber today by Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness. However, this is not a Fianna Fáil bill, and McGuinness is not certain his party colleagues will even support it when it is debated.

Today he urged all TDs in the Dáil to read it, to contribute to the debate and to help make this bill work. He described this as a “non-political approach to what is a crisis for Irish society”.

The Affordable Housing and Fair Mortgage Bill 2018 deals with evictions, mortgage-to-rent solutions, sales to vulture funds and the reconfiguration of the government’s legal advice service Abhaile as a mortgage resolution agency.

McGuinness said the legislation would “keep people in their homes and bring the vulture funds to heel”. He said politicians will not find an answer to these problems in any of the bills currently before the house.

Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon McGuinness told TDs they have a choice now – they can go down the “tired old political route that is stale and out of date” and make excuses, or they can get involved with the legislation.

“I’m asking you not to reach for those excuses. I’m asking every single member to examine this bill with a view to bringing it to second stage where we can discuss and debate real issues central to Irish society.”

With reporting by Christina Finn