Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

I too welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an Teachta Mac Craith a chur an Bille seo síos. Molaim an tAire, an Teachta Ó Nuanáin, freisin for accepting it. It is magnanimous of him and his junior Minister. Deputy Pringle stated he would be concerned this legislation will remain on the Order Paper for some time. Given the tenacity and vigour with which Deputy Michael McGrath will pursue this, I know that will not happen. We will all support him in that regard. I give the Government the benefit of the doubt on this matter.

It is high time this legislation was enacted. It is shameful that the Financial Services Ombudsman requested these powers back in 2009. Who is the Department of Finance hiding? Why is it sheltering the banks? What type of system do we have?

It is ironic that this Bill is being discussed on the same days as we are discussing the findings of the Mahon tribunal. I believe a sub-culture exists within the senior echelons of the banking sector. I am not speaking about counter staff, many of whom are now being thrown to the wolves. Rather I am speaking about the slick operators who have forced others to do the dirty work for them. Previously, people respected the parish priest, school teacher and bank manager and, possibly, the creamery manager if there was one. We have no creameries now and have very few sagart paróistes - we must keep our faith - but we have plenty of bank managers.

While some of the banks have been amalgamated having brought our country to its knees they have in the main gotten away with blackguarding, infringement of rights and terrorising people. Calls were made recently in this House and in the media for the banks to be restrained in terms of the number of times they could menace customers in regard to loan repayments. Many bank managers are bully boys. They got away with this and are no different to many of those about whom we speak in the context of the Mahon tribunal. They used their position of influence wrongly. We all know that they told untruths to the late Brian Lenihan, the former Minister for Finance and the Government leading to the introduction of the bank guarantee. They have continued with that mask. They were allowed by the previous Government and are being allowed by this Government to con all and sundry.

I am glad Government Members saw fit to be in the House for the debate on Deputy McGrath's Bill unlike when we debated the motion on the interest rates of Permanent TSB, at which time, for 14 minutes, there was no Member on the Government side of the Chamber. This Government promised change and reform which we have yet to see. The banks are deluding themselves. They are lying to the people. They are saying that they approve X number of loans applied for but that is not true. Hundreds of thousands of customers go the banks looking for a loan, many of whom do not even get past the counter and are told to go away. They are not classed as applicants. The banks are withdrawing business people's overdrafts and forcing them to take out term loans. It is high time the Government, Financial Regulator and Credit Reviewer, Mr. John Trethowan, and his staff tackled this issue. We are only tickling the banks and paying lip-service to them. They know they can get away with anything and that the fraud squad will not be sent in to deal with them. Why should they be allowed to undermine faith in democracy and to give two fingers to the Government and so on at the same time as we are bailing them out? The public are mystified by this. Voters, non-voters and everyone else are sickened by the system. They know that there is not fair play in the system and that these people have gotten away with what they did. They are aware that Deputy McGrath has introduced this Bill, which I am glad the Minister has acquiesced to. However, one wonders how much longer it will take the mandarins in the Department of Finance to progress it. Mr. Cardiff was sent off to Europe in haste. Perhaps he knew too much about what went on that fateful - or fatal - night of the bank guarantee. There may be many more who know too much who are gone with their big pensions and we have to give people money well above the agreed cap. They know they can dance the merry dance to this Government as they did to the previous Government. It is time the rince and codding was stopped. They should be investigated thoroughly.

This power should be given to the ombudsman. Where there is wrongdoing, he should be able to name those involved. I am not saying he should be revealing names all the time. One in four complaints - 25% - is upheld. That is a lot. I am sure many more complaints would be borderline. Those involved have to be outed. The truth must be known. They must be named and shamed. They should be there to serve the people, rather than serving themselves and the people serving them.

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