Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)

Figures released today by the Central Statistics Office record that the number of suicides has risen by 7% in the past year. Some 525 people took their lives in 2011 although some believe the real figure was as high as 600, or even higher. The figures for 2012 show another alarming rise in suicides with an average of three people a day taking their own lives, which could mean that the number of suicides may double this year. Experts also agree that economic and financial problems have a major impact, with one report I have seen stating that every 1% increase in unemployment leads to almost an equivalent increase in suicides.

Personal debt is clearly a factor as many people find themselves unable to cope with massive personal debts which they see no way of ever clearing. Mortgage debt is clearly central to that and it is to be regretted that the Bill goes nowhere close to tackling that problem. We require far more radical measures, including the need to address the issue of negative equity and the fact that many mortgages were taken on for houses which are no longer worth anything like what they were when the mortgage was taken out. In many instances house prices were greatly inflated by reckless lending and the absence of accountability or control. House prices were also inflated by the attitude of the Government at that time.

Substantial numbers of people are in financial difficulties due to contracting mortgages and loans with sub-prime lenders. Many now find it impossible to pay back the loans and have fallen into serious arrears due to unemployment and falls in income. The banks themselves play a negative role in this. Continually, people come to my clinics who are unable to meet mortgage repayments and are trying to negotiate interest only or reduced repayments for a period of time until the economy improves. In many cases, the banks are not co-operating, nor are they co-operating with small businesses that are struggling to survive in order to keep people in employment.

The banks are the country's new landlords. It is the banks that are carrying out repossessions and taking over family homes, property and small farms. They are filling the role of the landlords of 150 years ago.

The situations caused by banks are greatly exacerbated in the case of certain lenders who charge huge interest rates, impose massive penalties on people in arrears and resort to proceedings to gain possession of properties, even when they have been given reasonable offers for repayment. Some of those in that situation may perhaps be adjudged to have been ill-advised in taking on high interest loans, but in many cases they are people who were unable for various reasons to get mortgages and loans from the high street lenders. Some have questioned the ethics of these lenders and it is not surprising that the most aggressive pursuers of repossessions are sub-prime lenders like Start.

Some of you will also be aware of Wise Mortgages which is currently pursuing the repossession of a farm through the courts, even though the person concerned, whom I know personally, has offered, with the help of his family, to repay the original principal. Wise Mortgages is owned by Ronald Weisz, an American citizen who was declared bankrupt in the United States and has a conviction in Ireland in the District Court for attempting to get people to deposit money with him. He is also in breach of Central Bank regulations, although the Central Bank advised the person against whom the repossession is being sought that the regulations do not apply to Wise as the company is not licensed by the Central Bank, nor is it subject to the provisions of the consumer protection code.

I have written to the Central Bank about this matter and I am still awaiting a reply. As public representatives, the Minister and I, with every Member of the House, are entitled to a reply to the questions we put to the Central Bank on behalf of a person who is being persecuted by vulture lenders such as Ronald Weisz who, I am told, resides in County Leitrim on an estate he has repossessed.

This is surely a surreal situation. It is also one that needs to be addressed through legislation, as such companies may be considered to be little, if any, better than illegal moneylenders. That is a perfect description of this company. I dealt with Wise Mortgages when I first came into this House. Ronald Weisz, with the help of his cronies in the legal system, terrorised a small farmer not far from where I live and attempted to repossess his land. The farmer borrowed a modest sum, of about €50,000, and Wise Mortgages wanted repayments of €150,000. The initial interest rate was 9% but it rose to 18% when one payment was missed.

There are lenders who ought not to be allowed to lend money. One such company is Wise Finances, the financial company of Ronald Weisz. He has convictions in the United States for fraud and also has a series of judgments against him in the US which led him to file for bankruptcy. He was also taken to court in this country in 1995 for attempting to take in deposits, something he was not licensed to do, and charged and convicted under Section 27 of the Central Bank Act. This led the then Minster, Mary Harney, to attempt in 1999 to tighten up the legislation governing lending but, unfortunately, there are still loopholes which require closing. I hope the Government will legislate in order to deal with companies such as those of the vulture, Ronald Weisz.

It was also claimed during the court case I referred to, that a licence formerly held by Wise Finances in the UK lapsed in May 2004, that the company was not an authorised lender after that date and that it was not regulated by the Central Bank. Despite that, Mr. Weisz signed an affidavit for a court case in September 2004 claiming that the company was an authorised lender, which it was not under the conditions set out by the Central Bank. The current Central Bank regulations on fitness and probity, approved last September, in section 5.2 state that a financial provider must be able to demonstrate that his or her role in a relevant function is not adversely affected to a material degree by the fact that one or more of the following may be applicable: the person is subject to a judgment debt which is unsatisfied either in whole or in part, whether in the State or elsewhere; the person is or has been the subject of a bankruptcy petition whether in the State or elsewhere; or the person has been adjudicated a bankrupt and the bankruptcy is undischarged, whether in the State or elsewhere. That clearly applies to Mr. Weisz and Wise Finances. However, the Central Bank has claimed that those regulations do not apply to Wise Finances as it is not registered with the Bank. In that case, surely the company ought not be allowed operate in the first instance.

Given that this company is currently in the process of attempting to repossess properties, including a farm in the west of Ireland, I would request that the Department of Finance and the Central Bank investigate the legality and status of the company concerned as a matter of urgency. I would also be grateful if the Minister would investigate this matter. He has been involved in unscrupulous money lending operations which have crippled decent and honourable people who were in a vulnerable position and looked to him for money. He continues to operate but he has to be stopped.

A farmer in the west of Ireland who I know personally is facing having his family farm repossessed even though he is making every effort to ensure the money he borrowed is paid back. His extended family is supporting him in this objective.

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