John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Taking up from where Senator O'Donnell left off, the current arrangement, reflected in some of the proposals for the future, is not working. I make it clear to the Department of Finance and the Central Bank - I take the opportunity every time representatives are before us - that vulture funds are running rings around the legislation. The credit servicing firms are doing the same thing. The protection that should be there for the consumer does not really travel, as we can see in court cases. People are being bullied and shoved in a direction to get them out of the property or cause them to give up on their circumstances. There is no protection in that regard. These people are doing their best to negotiate with a bank and fulfil an obligation that they may have entered into with a bank. Nevertheless, they are not protected when the loan is sold on.

Representatives of AIB came before us a short time ago and told us they would not sell private homes of families and so on. According to the emails we have, recent portfolios include homes nonetheless. The question for the bank and the Department of Finance is what better transparency can we have? It is important that the Central Bank and the Department of Finance representatives come before the committee, and that is their job, but as an extension the representatives of vulture funds and credit servicing firms should also appear before the committee on request. It is fair. The Irish people caught in this mess are working in the dark. They believe they have cover and that the law is on their side in dealing with the banks. Once people go to a vulture fund, it is game over as they do as they like. As these bodies can overlook the Central Bank's influence, they are emboldened and look to resist even further.

How often do people from the Department or the Central Bank meet representatives of those funds? How often would they meet service agents?