Banks urged to write-off some household debt

The Secretary General at the Department of Finance has today called on the financial sector to write-off the debt of households with a real inability to pay.

Speaking at an Irish Banking Federation conference, John Moran said banks need to begin lending to households who can afford it and write-off debt for those who cannot.

"We need to see solutions that work, for example, forebearance for households that suffer short but sudden shocks to income such as, for example, losing jobs," he said.

"But then we also need to see solutions that involve much more dramatic write-off of debt in respect of households that are really in non-sustainable situations, and have an inability to pay."