Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is against the backdrop that in a great many cases, mortgages were provided by banks which had become like betting shops. They gave out the betting token, which was the mortgage, and they became salesmen. The rank and file bankers who engaged in prudential lending were pushed aside and the salesmen took over. The problem here is that it is not good enough for banks to now come along and say that normal commercial criteria must resume. In many cases, the banks put people in the position of having mortgages they cannot now afford. It is not good enough for banks to walk away from this. Can I take it that in discussions with the banks, the Department will forcibly make this point?