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

Perhaps the Taoiseach will examine it then.

I want to come back to something the Taoiseach said about tribunals. I refer to his statement to the effect that he encourages all parties to keep in mind the cost of tribunals. That is okay with me. However, we have to look at the reasons for some of the tribunals. The total failure of the State to deal with particular problems is the reason for some of them. Some of these have come from whistleblowers and the Taoiseach has been very supportive of them. By all means control the cost of tribunals but someone needs to examine the functions of Government and bring about the reforms that are necessary whereby we can learn from our mistakes. I refer to where we attempt to put in place processes and procedures that eliminate such mistakes as much as is possible. There will always be mistakes. As long as we have humans, we are going to have mistakes. However, at least minimise them. It is almost depressing to see, every single week, the Committee of Public Accounts or this committee dealing with some failure of the State that has happened in some other guise down through the years. It just trundles on relentlessly. There is no change. There is the usual spoof from some Departments in respect of their responses to particular issues but no real gain for the State out of it. I ask the Taoiseach to look at that as well.

In that context, I want to come to the work of this committee. Permanent TSB and AIB are proposing to sell a huge tranche of mortgages. The Permanent TSB sale involves home loans, split mortgages and all sorts of things. AIB is centred on businesses, including small businesses, farms and that kind of thing. Something has to be done about that. I appeal to the Taoiseach to find a mechanism to prevent these fire sales to vulture funds because they will create massive social problems in the future relative to housing and families. I have seen, at first hand through the courts, the type of trauma and difficulties caused. I am not talking about those who will not pay or have it and will not pay. I am talking about those who are caught in a bind with the banks.

The banks will say that they work with the customers. They do not; at lease not effectively. There is one bank that certainly has drilled down, worked with every single customer and has said it will not sell to vulture funds. That is Bank of Ireland. However, the others seem to be preparing a sale which I believe the Government should stop. I am making that point because, while we deal with the banks here, the vulture funds have refused to come before us. They are not regulated. The agents that are regulated, who are as bad as the vulture funds, will not come before us either. They will not participate in the democratic process of being transparent and honest with the people we represent. It is deeply frustrating and annoying to see these people, who are in difficulty and cannot sort out their problems, coming to us while the vulture funds are giving us the two fingers. They will not come near us. It is not right.

The national housing co-operative and fair mortgage bill is with the Ceann Comhairle's office and the Bill's Office at the moment. Mr. Edmund Honohan has been highlighting it. Again, this is an issue in respect of which the Taoiseach and the Cabinet, for example, could take an initiative whereby ethical funds - and they are there - rather than the vultures would be the preferred buyers of these loans. There is no place for vulture funds in Ireland now. It is a point I am bringing to the Taoiseach's attention. If he wants to comment on it, fair enough. I ask him to consider it. Perhaps he could send some message to the vulture funds and their agents that this is where they are made accountable and this is where they should come. A strong word from the Taoiseach would certainly change the mindset of these people who are blackguarding innocent individuals throughout the country. They are refusing to deal with those to whom I refer.