Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

None of the Fine Gael Deputies in our area runs clinics, however. They do not have to deal with people coming in to them.

Does the Minister agree that the Keane report got it badly wrong given that it fails to utter one word of criticism of the bankers for their role in this crisis? Given that its guiding principles do not say anything about the culpability of bankers, developers or Fianna Fáil politicians, it is starting from the wrong point. Is it not outrageous that the report states there should be no entitlement to particular solutions, that it is inevitable that some will lose their homes and that people should keep their homes "where appropriate"? The latter statement implies there are times when it is appropriate that a person should not keep his or home and that one of the problems we have to address is inappropriate mortgage holder behaviour. The entire emphasis of the guiding principles is on the so-called irresponsible mortgage holder. Does the Minister agree that is a disgraceful starting point for a report?

In setting up the terms of reference for the working group, was it not wrong to exclude MABS, FLAC, the Northside Community Law Centre, New Beginning, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and all the other groups which deal daily with the victims of the mortgage crisis?

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