Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I submitted two questions, one on the economic management council and the other on the issue of climate change and the green economy. However, that second question has somehow got mixed up with the four questions on the economic management council.

The people are very angry about the banks. In particular, given the recapitalisation, the people are angry the banks are not doing what the Government and others have said the banks will do or should be doing. I have made the point previously that there is a disconnection between the articulation of issues here and what is happening on the ground. People we meet on the streets and at our clinics say that what is going on is crazy. The situation in relation to mortgage interest arrears is getting worse. There has been no alleviation of the stress people are under. If anything, the strain is getting worse. There is no sense that the banks are responding in the spirit of the recapitalisation agenda. The entire approach to saving the banks was predicated on ensuring they would be in a position to meet the needs of the economy and the people. That is particularly true of the mortgage arrears issue. I remind the House that issues of mortgage difficulty and impairment were taken on board when the banks were recapitalised.

I heard what the Taoiseach had to say about micro-enterprises. People who have been in business for a long time are still contacting me to say their companies have been denied working capital. Many jobs are riding on the sustainability of the companies in question. I am talking about small businesses that have had good experiences in the past and business people who have not done anything untoward or been in any great difficulties. They are now finding it hard to access money, however. Regardless of all the big documents and action plans for jobs, the fastest way to create jobs is to provide for a meaningful system of access to credit for people and micro-enterprises. Mortgage arrears issues also need to be dealt with comprehensively and decisively because they are having a detrimental impact on families and households. This problem is acting as a drag on the economy by dampening consumer demand and sentiment. People are not prepared to spend money in the absence of clarity on mortgage arrears issues. I ask the Government to take on board the proposals we have made in that regard. The decisions of the debt settlement office should be binding on the banks. We can no longer let the banks make decisions on what they will and will not agree to. They are not responding to the sentiments that are being articulated here and across the country.

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