Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for coming. They are most welcome.

The Department of Finance's submission states:

The Bill is overriding or abrogating vested private property rights. Constitutionally, this can only be done in a proportionate manner and where justified by the exigencies of the common good. After consulting with the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Finance is of the view that the interference proposed by this Bill is disproportionate and therefore unconstitutional.

Essentially, on balance, so far there seems to be a complete clash of views between the committee and the delegations. Their view of the vested private property rights under discussion in this context - private property rights and the assets of funds - is that they are entirely superior to the rights of borrowers whose mortgages are being purchased by the funds. That is my reading of it and the delegates should correct me if I am wrong.

Both institutions have carried out some detailed work on the funds. Do they have studies of them that could be made available? If we could read them, perhaps they might give us a better insight into why the institutions are batting so heavily on the funds' side.

All of the supporting documentation is in the same vein.

I am sure the Department of Finance has carried out some kind of assessments of the funds which are buying in to Irish financial institutions, securitising debt and so on. On oversight of the banks and the Department, I am sure the Department has broadly considered the status of these funds and come to a view that they can properly buy the assets of Irish financial institutions. As I understand it, when one is carrying out due diligence on a matter one must look at what is happening all the way around in the transaction. Senator Kieran O'Donnell can correct me if I am wrong. Assuming that the Department has done the work on the funds, what has it done to assess the economic impact of the actions of the funds on distressed mortgage holders or non-performing loans? As Mr. Tobin stated, many of these people have restructured mortgages and they are paying them down. It is likely that the funds buy the loans at a discount of between 30 cent on a euro and 60 cent on a euro. I ask the witnesses to refresh their memories in that regard. I am sure Mr. Tobin is aware of the relevant figures for these acquisitions. What work did the Department carry out in terms of looking at the profile of mortgage holders who are adjudged to be non-performing even though their loans have been restructured and are being paid down? The crux of the dispute between members of the committee and the Department is that we cannot fully understand the perspective of the Department on this issue.