Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There has been a lot of fluff here this morning on all sides. We are here to talk about the arrears and the targets the Government set when the Minister for Finance announced this strategy on 13 March. Clearly, the strategy has failed. It is arguable that Bank of Ireland, in the little it has done, has gone beyond what the Government set out for it. It is time we, as the Legislature, took control of this and brought in legislation instead of just having the banks in here every so often, asking questions and then away with them, again and again. Let us not forget the banks that come before us and which are subject to the rules we are discussing today represent only approximately three quarters of the mortgage market. This is of no relevance to one quarter of the mortgage-holding public. They might as well switch off the television as the Oireachtas is doing nothing for them. It is time we took a grip of this situation.

When it was launched, the Government's scheme was widely welcomed by Government Deputies and criticised by the Opposition. We received criticism for criticising it but we have been proved right. The whole thing has been a failure. I hope this committee does not stop at these interviews as if we have done our job. We must take control of this, legislate for this situation and force the banks, through legislation, to put solutions in place. If effort is needed at international or European level to change capital rules to bring in debt-for-equity schemes, that has to happen and the Government should prioritise that.

Bank of Ireland did a nasty thing in the UK this year when it took tracker rates away from borrowers. It was a mean thing to do because people expected their tracker rates would last forever. Has Bank of Ireland examined this in Ireland and has it any plans to do that here? Can Mr. Boucher give me a categorical assurance it will not tamper with the tracker rates of borrowers in Ireland?