Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

There are some strong paragraphs in this document, some of which relate to transparency and accountability, but unfortunately some do not. Paragraph 6 states that "A covered institution and any group company party to a guarantee acceptance deed shall be required to comply with all the terms and conditions of this Scheme". It appears to me that the only way to sanction a bank is to remove it either partly or entirely from the scheme. Paragraphs 13 and 14 are related, as the issue of sanctioning is dealt with again. Paragraph 14 states that 90 days' notice must be given before a covered institution can be removed from the scheme. Should there not be something stronger in paragraph 6 than the word "shall"? Many other Bills provide for fines to be imposed, and/or a term of imprisonment not exceeding a certain amount of time, which should be ten years in this case given the carry-on that the characters involved in these banks have been up to. Will the Minister consider introducing the shadow of Mountjoy to some of these people? Should that not be applicable in this case, so that it is just not the assets of the institution that are on the line, but the liberty of the individuals involved?

Paragraph 8 states that the Minister will provide the results of any review of the scheme to the European Commission. Would he consider providing it to this House as well? I appreciate that he will go before the committee every six months, but it would be useful if the report was placed before this House as well. Paragraph 12 states that the Minister shall monitor the use of the scheme. Will he elaborate on that monitoring? Is it similar to paragraph 32, where he will be sending in monitors?

Paragraph 16.7 refers to the provision of an adequate return for taxpayers. Can the Minister confirm that he has made up his mind about the quantity of that return to the taxpayers? Media reports suggest that it is €1 billion. Is that the case? Would he consider that €8 billion might be more appropriate, albeit extended over the two-year period of the scheme? Under these terms, it appears that taxpayers will not get a single cent. Any money coming back will only cover the loss to the State at the moment.

It is clear from paragraph 20 that the covered institutions will work out the charge payable. In other words, the banks will monitor the banks. Why does the Minister not send in somebody from the Department of Finance to do that work, rather than trusting the banks to do it? I certainly would not trust them with that work.

Under paragraph 26, the banks involved in the scheme will be required to comply with the Irish Banking Federation code of practice on mortgage arrears. Can the Minister tighten up that paragraph further? Could he appoint a panel of individuals who could negotiate interest only repayments for a period? That would be considerably stronger. Paragraph 27 states that "Every quarter each covered institution shall provide the Regulatory Authority on behalf of the Minister with compliance certificates". Does the Minister trust the Financial Regulator to carry out such an important task? It is clear to me that this person has been asleep at his desk for at least ten years. I would not trust him to go up the road. Paragraphs 28 and 29 are very strong and very good——

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