John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for attending this meeting. I want to underline my own views in so far as supporting this Bill is concerned. Individuals and families out there are suffering greatly because of the attitude of the banks to providing assistance to solve problems between banks and borrowers. Some of them are unhelpful to a degree. It is almost impossible for some people, depending on their status, etc., with the banks, to deal with them. This problem is still the same.

The banks refer people very quickly to the courts. As I said earlier, as legislators we should go down to see some of those eviction courts. They are outrageous. People are not given an opportunity to defend themselves or explain their cases. The various initiatives that have been taken, such as house purchases by voluntary housing agencies and the mortgage-to-rent scheme, are just not working. The banks are not playing ball. They are favouring new borrowers who are coming in because such cases involve dealing with new sets of figures on a new page. They are not willing to assist borrowers on their books who are in really deep trouble. Until they are driven to the point where they are forced to deal with such borrowers, we will continue to have this problem with the banks. We can imagine what it is like to deal with sub-prime lenders as they are just outrageous in their behaviour and their treatment of people.

In my opinion, the State was more than good to the banks when it bailed them out and gave them an opportunity to continue in the marketplace. This was done because it was decided the banks were essential in terms of the availability of money. The behaviour of the banks does not show any sign of change. As the banks are getting back on their feet, they are even more aggressive and have no consideration for people. That is certainly what I am finding when I speak to people who are dealing generally with the banks.

The manner in which evictions are coming about is an outright disgrace. The way people are treated when they end up in one of those courts is an outright disgrace. The banks are taking people's houses even though those people have done their utmost to work with the banks to try to keep their houses. It appears that the legislative system and all of us in this House have failed. The banks have got up off their uppers and are back at the same game again. They are treating people in an abominable fashion. I cannot stand over their activities.

We will take it up with the banks and the Central Bank when they come in here. No one is assisting consumers in this area. The Central Bank's consumer protection efforts are not working for people. Like other members, I am dubious about what we are told about switching accounts. People cannot switch their accounts unless they have the muscle to do so. Otherwise, they are locked into their banks and no other bank is interested in them. New entrants into the market will show no interest whatsoever in someone who is in difficulty. Therefore, customers are at the mercy of the banks they are with. The banks show no mercy. That is the awful disgrace of this. As they rebuild their balance sheets, the people who are most marginalised and affected by this are being shown no mercy whatsoever. I have to put that on the record.