Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Minister might clarify one point with regard to mortgage interest supplement. This provision will come into force on the commencement date chosen by the Minister. I understand that at the moment, a person with a certain level of income is eligible for mortgage interest supplement, through the Department, as a support. Are we now essentially giving the banks a veto, that is, the power to say whether a person can receive this supplement? That is how I read this. The Minister is assuming the banks will operate in absolute good faith. Up to now, a person with low income, say in the €20,000 bracket, whose repayments constitute a certain proportion of his or her income, became eligible for mortgage interest supplement based on his or her financial situation. Sometimes that supplement prevents people from going into arrears. It is important. Now the Minister is saying, if I understand correctly, that people will need to be in a forbearance arrangement, which implies they are already in arrears, before they can receive this supplement, and lenders will have to engage with borrowers. Up to now, this arrangement was based on a person's financial situation and was a matter for the applicant and the Department; now, the bank must be happy with the arrangement if the person is to receive the supplement. By definition, it has a veto. Some banks may be fully helpful. Today the Taoiseach mentioned that one bank will have 300 staff working in this specific area. The Minister mentioned the Cooney and Keane reports. The Minister for Finance announced there would be 100 designated people who would be intermediaries between the borrower and the bank because the two parties are not on an equal footing, financially, legally or when it comes to negotiations. That has not yet been implemented. Is the Minister now stating she is introducing a new arrangement? In my view, she does not believe Irish banks always operate in absolute good faith for the sole benefit of the poor distressed mortgage holder. If that was the case we would not be here today. I might still be over on the other side and the Minister might still be on this one.

I know of nobody in Ireland who trusts the Irish banks which have made a hames of their own operation, as many continue to do. They were given €5 billion by the Irish taxpayer as part of their funding. This was to trickle down to distressed mortgage holders but none of it is doing so. The banks got the €5 billion and want to bank it. Now they want the Minister to finance any arrangements they must make to help distressed mortgage holders. She is turning around and making an arrangement whereby the banks will be given a veto on people in the most difficult situations who may be trying to stay out of arrears and any forbearance arrangement. Is my way of looking at this not a valid way to put it? The Minister should not give me the benign view from the banks' side.

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