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

I disagree with the Taoiseach on the approach. I want to avail of this opportunity to say to him directly in this formal setting that the vulture funds are extremely difficult to deal with and are becoming even more difficult. The banks are now as aggressive and as arrogant as they were during the time of the crash and afterwards. I am talking about people who want to pay and want to engage with the banks. In spite of what the banks would say about the engagement, the banks are not engaging. That has been the experience of the hearings we have had at this committee time and time again. Tracker mortgages are another example. I am taking the opportunity to highlight these matters. I know the Taoiseach is aware of them. There is a different point of view, and that is fine, but we need to take into account the commentary of the individuals concerned, that is, the many thousands of people caught in bad mortgages, their cry for help and the fact that they continue to tell us that it is an issue of non-engagement from the side of the banks. That is the point I am making.

I encourage the Taoiseach to look at the Comptroller and Auditor General legislation suggested by my party. We have had an overrun on the cost of the children's hospital and we have issues, I will call them, with broadband. That is not an overrun, as the Taoiseach says. It is still at an early stage. There is an overrun on the works on Leinster House. This was flagged for us by the Department of Finance. Really, it is time to update the Comptroller and Auditor General legislation to give that office a greater role in the examination of the spend of public moneys running right down through the various organisations. If that were to be done, it would be a reform that would have a very positive impact on the activities of Government, Government officials and so on and would certainly raise the flag of value for money in this House. I am again just drawing the matter to the Taoiseach's intention.