Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Vulture funds and financial companies getting involved in the housing market has been discussed. This is an area the Central Bank needs to look at. There has been a renewed urgency in recent times by the funds to repossess properties that have been in arrears for years. These properties have been the subject of numerous attempts to resolve the issue but the holder of the mortgage never wanted to resolve the problem until now, when the market is at its peak. The Central Bank should have a look at this and I intend to raise it with it.

Something else we need to have a look at some time soon is the extent to which funds have repossessed properties that another bank had funded and the extent to which they are putting them on the market in a hurry on the Internet. This is quite common. From the moment they get their talons into the properties, they will do virtually anything to get them sold as quickly as possible. There could be a conflict of interest because they could be selling and buying their own properties. One of the questions that I ask, and I am sure everybody asks it from time to time, is whether a property will go on the free and open market. They do not want to do that. It is an area that would bear looking at. It is causing concern to the Minister and members of the committee. We should investigate it, insofar as we can, as quickly as possible and try to be of some assistance.

On the other matter under discussion, referred to by Deputy Conway-Walsh, regarding the case of the Comptroller and Auditor General, we need to be cautious where we enter into this field because the Comptroller and Auditor General has a retrospective role to play in where the money was spent by the State, Departments and so on and so forth. If we were to hand over that area and his or her ability to say to the Minister, "By the way, you should not spend money on this and it would be better next year", there would be a crossover in the political role and the work of the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Comptroller and Auditor General cannot be involved in that context. It has been known to happen from time to time but it is not supposed to, on the basis that it is a policy matter and policy is an area strictly reserved for the politicians, including Ministers, Deputies and everybody in these roles. It has been that way from the beginning. It is a constitutional issue and I certainly would not like to see this changing because we all have our respective roles to play. Our hands should not become tied behind our backs or elsewhere. A situation could arise if something were to happen that might control policy to an extent we might not be happy with.

There are a couple of other issues. I am glad the Minister is here because I heard him on the radio this morning waxing lyrically about ATMs. We support him entirely in this regard. We took up an issue with the Central Bank in this regard too and perhaps he might use his good influence as well. We had a little ATM machine in this House and it was very convenient for the staff members here, especially in winter when people very often need cash, to which they are entitled as the Minister stated himself. We would like him to encourage, and we will certainly encourage, the little machine being brought back here for the convenience of customers. I say this because everyone is a customer, including all the staff, the Minister, me and everybody else.

I agree with what was referred to this morning. There were several occasions where I found myself over the month of December, which was not the most rain-free month in the year, having to wait and travel from one ATM machine to another based on them being out of order or only being able to supply a limited amount such as €50 or less. This is the customer's own money, though. I agree we need to look into this matter to encourage the lending institutions in this regard and remind banks that the State and the taxpayer bailed them out not so long ago. If it were not for the willingness of the taxpayers to do that, a different situation might have arisen in this regard. I am sorry for going on about this issue but I know it is not falling on deaf ears when I address these comments to the Minister