Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate it.

Mr. Draghi is welcome. He is responsible for the supervision of Europe's banks. Unfortunately his job is to protect the banks and not the people. For example, many of us are very concerned that the European Central Bank, ECB, has always relied on the Single Supervisory Mechanism statute to shift responsibility for any kind of protection for consumers and distressed borrowers to the national competent authorities, which in my view often fail to ensure that protection. Mr. Draghi will be familiar with the tracker mortgage scandal, for example.

The ECB says that another bailout of the banks should never be needed. I would like to put it to Mr. Draghi that there is an ongoing bailout of Irish banks. He will be aware of the exorbitant interest rates they charge, which have been mentioned several times today. Is he aware that the banks here do not have to pay any tax for up to 20 years? They have been given political permission to sell bad loans rather than work through them. Tax breaks like the help-to-buy scheme have been introduced to keep the price of houses, and therefore mortgages, up. Rural communities have seen their banking services closed down with no comment from the Central Bank or the Government. It is the Irish people who pay for this ongoing bailout in higher interest rates, their loans being sold to vultures and denial of banking services. Mr. Draghi has the facts now. He can see the pattern. Will he act to stop the Irish people paying for the banks and their problems for another decade and more?