Offaly man's testimony puts a human face on the failures of the housing and banking systems

TULLAMORE native Tom Roche’s presentation at the recent Breaking Point Conference held in Dublin was a deeply personal and powerful testimony that placed a human face on the wider structural failures of Ireland’s housing and banking system.

Speaking as a lifelong furniture maker with no formal education beyond primary school, Roche grounded his contribution in lived experience, describing a journey from financial stability to prolonged insecurity despite years of steady work and tax compliance.

He opened with a stark reflection drawn from his walk through Dublin that morning, recounting an encounter with a homeless man. This moment prompted a striking comparison: that someone seeking help on the street might now have a better chance of securing housing than he does of retaining his own home. This observation set the tone for his central argument, that the system has become so distorted that those who worked, paid mortgages, and followed the rules are now at risk of losing everything.

Roche traced his difficulties back to 2004, when he was granted a mortgage of €172,000 despite earning only €25,000 per year. He explained that the repayments amounted to approximately €940 per month, far exceeding prudent lending guidelines. In hindsight, he questioned how such a loan could have been approved, arguing that proper due diligence was clearly absent and that he should never have been lent that amount.

Despite these conditions, Roche maintained that he met his obligations and paid his mortgage consistently until the financial crash in 2008. By that point, he had repaid a substantial portion of the loan. However, the collapse of his income, linked in part to the loss of funding for his environmental organisation Just Forests, placed him under severe financial strain.

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He described a long and complex engagement with the legal and financial system that followed. After an initial court case taken against him by the bank was dismissed without appeal, he later attempted to resolve his situation through the personal insolvency process. With the help of a practitioner, he offered a substantial lump sum payment and proposed that the remaining balance be warehoused. This proposal, which he and his adviser considered reasonable, was refused without clear explanation. Roche interpreted this as evidence that the bank’s priority was repossession rather than resolution.

Roche then outlined how his loan was ultimately sold, placing him into ongoing court proceedings throughout 2025. Throughout this period, he emphasised that he had done nothing wrong, repeatedly stressing that he did not cause the financial crash and had met all his obligations when he was able to do so.

A defining feature of his presentation was his refusal to accept stigma. He spoke openly about debt, urging others not to feel shame for circumstances beyond their control. In his view, a culture of silence has allowed what he described as an entrenched “vulture” system to operate without sufficient scrutiny. He argued that this system has become so normalised that many no longer recognise its injustice.

Roche also detailed his personal activism, including hunger strikes outside bank branches, public protests, and a 30 kilometre walk along the Grand Canal to attend a court hearing. These actions, he said, were driven by a need to highlight his case and the broader issues it represents. While these efforts brought public support and media attention, they also came at a personal cost. He spoke candidly about the emotional toll of the experience, including periods of deep depression and withdrawal from normal life.

Despite this, his closing remarks carried a sense of resilience and gradual recovery. He described small but meaningful steps, such as returning to social activities after many years, and credited the support of campaigners and advisers for helping him rebuild confidence.

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Overall, Roche’s presentation was less a technical analysis and more a compelling narrative of injustice, perseverance, and resistance. It underscored the human consequences of systemic failures in lending, regulation, and legal process, while reinforcing a broader message that those affected are not at fault and should not remain silent.

All of the presentations made at the conference are available on the Breaking Point channel on YouTube.