Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh Mr. Draghi, Professor Lane agus Johannes Lindner. The Irish people have paid a huge price for bailing out the Irish banking system and the ECB played a very negative role in that regard. Some would say it played a very sinister role in increasing the costs to them. The refusal at the time of the ECB to support the Government's desire to burn senior bondholders has cost them dearly. Even now, the State is being forced to dispose of the floating bonds associated with the odious debt of Anglo Irish Bank at a cost to the Irish people. A decade on, homeowners struggling with their debts and those who are or who have been on arrears are seeing their loans being sold off to vulture funds. When we speak to the banks, they tell us they have to do this as a result of ECB rules. This is a morally unbearable position. Mr. Draghi's colleagues are on record saying the ECB has no preference as to how NPLs are dealt with as long as they are dealt with. What is Mr. Draghi's definition of a "non-performing loan" given that our banks appear to have different definitions depending on which one speaks to?

My next question relates to an ECB rate rise at a future date. As my colleague said, Irish consumers are paying twice the EU mortgage interest rate average, which is unacceptable. Irish businesses, farmers and mortgage holders are having to bear that. Together with Deputy Michael McGrath, I have published legislation to enable the Central Bank to intervene to deal with a market failure and cap interest rates. The ECB does not support that concept, however. Can the ECB lift the restriction or tell us how we should deal with such a situation and protect our citizens given where we are? Does Mr. Draghi share the view of many in Ireland that the Anglo Irish Bank debt is odious and should no longer be a burden on the people?