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

This cannot be a licence for the banks to engage in wholesale repossessions. The banks did it in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s. Irish citizens have bailed out the banks to the tune of €64 billion. While we want to put people on a sustainable basis, we must remember that if people lose their homes, there will still be a charge on the State in certain circumstances. The Irish public places enormous store in the family home. It is probably a throwback to our history. It occupies a position in Irish society that can never be underestimated. The banks must play their part. Banks will be banks so it is down to regulation and direction. Where two similar cases land on a banker's desk, different results can follow. The banks must work with homeowners many of whom are under enormous stress. I am very conscious of this as a public representative and I have no doubt that in its deliberations with the banks, the Department will express this forcibly.