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

I will outline some numbers from a recent sale in July 2019 where 79% of private dwelling house or PDH loans are not in the litigation process. I refer to a loan portfolio that is being sold. It was out there and has probably been sold by now. In addition, 69% of the loans being offered were at an advanced stage of litigation. In other words, the next step was court. In terms of analysing a portfolio being sold, I will outline the actual figures. In terms of borrowers of just under €250,000, and I mean various levels of loans under that figure, there were 2,098 of them and these loans have gone for sale. If one were to relate that to every bank because they are all doing the same thing, it would appear that the banks are stockpiling these loans to save money on their legal fees and leaving it to the vulture funds to do as they wish with that number of loans relative to homes. I would take from that that the banks are not using their full suite of options to assist the borrower and have made a conscious decision to dump these loans on the market. That would seem to be the case for all of the borrowers and that brings me back to the question asked by Deputy McGrath. Due to the fact that the banks are so willing, and connive so much with their figures relative to bad debt, there is a need to prioritise the not-for-profits and encourage the banks to use them. I mean that if the banks are conniving so much with the figures to at least give a not-for-profit the option to save some of these individuals and families and keep them in their own homes. Definitely, from this portfolio, the figures in the banks are being manipulated.