Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There has been much political discussion by different Governments that it was supposed to be forced and all the rest or that there would at least be a suite of options that every single entity would have to offer. That does not exist. It is great to say that the code of conduct on mortgage arrears applies to everybody. If you look at the fine print, however, it is clear that it only applies to what the bank or nonbank actually offers people. If they do not offer fixed rates, people do not get it. They have no right to it. They do not offer a permanent reduction on interest rates. As I said to the representatives from the Central Bank, it should point me to one of these arrangements the vulture funds offer that does not create more debt for a family eventually. They are all more expensive. I take Mr. O'Brien's point, however. It is a solution. It might be that part of the solution is here and that the other part might be in terms of the Central Bank. I go back to my original point, namely, that these loans should never have got to where they are today.

I will move on to FLAC. Ms Barry mentioned the comments of the former Governor, Mr. Philip Lane, that the same protections borrowers enjoyed with banks would continue to be enjoyed following the sale of mortgage loans to vulture funds. She stated that these assurances have not been not borne out. Such assurances were not just given by Mr. Lane; they were also given by the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach at the time. They were given directly to assure these homeowners that their loans were going to be okay. Does FLAC believe that they were false promises. Why does it say that they are not being borne out?