Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is the Central Bank washing its hands. The Central Bank washed its hands of the tracker stuff at the very start of it. In fairness, it kicked-in late on in the day.

This individual, for example, should not have had his loan sold to a vulture fund. This individual should not have been under an alternative payment arrangement because if he was not a victim of the tracker mortgage scandal by that bank, he would have been better off. He would not need to go under a payment arrangement. He can show that his payments under the arrangement would have been higher than if he were given what he was legally and contractually entitled to in the first place. The only reason Permanent TSB sold this cohort of loans is because they were deemed non-performing by the standards that are laid down. The point is that he is bring wronged again. He should never have had his loan sold on. The only reason he has had his loan sold on is because he was a victim of the tracker mortgage scandal.

The Central Bank is putting the onus on him to go and see if he can switch and, potentially, maybe Permanent TSB may allow him to switch or take out a loan with it. The onus should be on the bank and it should be told that this individual and this cohort of individuals would never have been under an alternative arrangement if it was not for the fact that it took money out of their bank accounts unlawfully. They would never have had to be in that situation and, therefore, the bank would not have sold their loans because it did not sell performing domestic loans to vulture funds. Therefore, this person should not be out now to the tune of €5,000 extra per year because of what the bank did wrong to him and his family in the first instance. That is what the Central Bank should be saying but it is putting all the onus on them. That is completely unfair.