Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious of the opposition of the Government and others in respect of the High Court appeal being moved to the Circuit Court. I am aware of how financial institutions try to use every possible mechanism to thwart the efforts of the Financial Services Ombudsman. We need to be very careful about any changes. This is evident even in respect of the tracker mortgages, where one financial institution is appealing right the way through the system.

I believe that this debate is worth having and that we need to continue to monitor an accessible and affordable independent appeals mechanism. I do not intend to push the issue of the Circuit Court and High Court as it would delay the legislation. I would welcome engagement with the officials on the issue of having a 21 day or 60 day interval. I understand that if we lay the provision down in legislation then the courts will be obliged to act on that basis. I have no problem with the section being opposed. If it were opposed then I reserve the right to bring forward an amendment on Report Stage to deal with the timeframe for the Circuit Court as opposed to the High Court. If the section were opposed it would also delete section 8, which is consequential on section 7.