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

It stood to me. On the remarks of the Minister of State, I did not intend to raise this matter but he mentioned it. The Central Bank over-regulates credit unions. It should not be the regulator of credit unions. It should not be the agency to operate protections for consumers. That really has to be considered and judged.

As far as regulation is concerned, I think the vulture funds have got away with murder. They have got away with far too much and have not been regulated as they ought to have been. It is as if they are able to bob and weave around the regulations and legislation we put in place. They get away with it and they literally torture people. I wish to put on record that, as Deputy Durkan has often mentioned, people, including public representatives, cannot contact the vulture funds. They do not return one's phone calls. Even when one is making an offer to sort something out on behalf of a constituent, their response is extremely poor. They are arrogant beyond belief and the language they use in confronting people about the issues of the loans and so on is just horrific.

The last thing I will say about the Central Bank, with which we are arranging a meeting, is that if it had regulated properly at the time that Jonathan Sugarman made his complaint regarding a bank, we might not have ended up in the deep trouble we were in during the ensuing financial collapse.

I thank the Minister of State and his officials.