Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important Bill.

The Bill has the capacity to change people's lives. I am sure all Members in this House have been contacted by constituents who are struggling to repay untenable mortgage payments. I am certainly well aware of it myself. It is another legacy issue from the Celtic tiger, the effects of which have been particularly corrosive for many families. In my constituency of Wicklow I have been contacted from people living in Bray, Greystones, Wicklow, Arklow, Blessington and across the county. This demonstrates that this is not an isolated problem and is not confined to any particular area or street.

It is clear that the fault lies with the bankers and their very close friends in Fianna Fáil. I cannot conceive why this gross property bubble was allowed to develop or why a political party would put developers and bankers to the fore ahead of the people they were elected to serve. The Labour Party recognised this when we criticised, in our election manifesto, the policy of putting the interests of big developers and the banks ahead of people looking to purchase a modest home. This was a direct cause of Ireland's disastrous property boom and bust. I am still angry at Fianna Fáil and their banking and developer friends. I am angry that no banker and no politician has gone to jail for what are and were crimes against the State. They betrayed the country. It is quite despicable and disgraceful to have to listen to what is left of Fianna Fáil speak with mock indignation of their shallow criticisms of the Government. They have demonstrated, without any doubt, their sheer inability to run an economy. What shame there is on them for allowing the troika into this country. They can clearly never be trusted again. This leaves the Government cleaning up the mess they left behind in the best way it can. We have made progress on this.

The Personal Insolvency Bill is part of this progress. It will be of great benefit to the many families who have need of it and it delivers on another promise in the programme for Government to give more protection for home owners with distressed mortgages.

In tackling the heart of the problem the Government sought the views of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. As Vice Chairman of the committee, I was more than happy to facilitate hearings on this important Bill. The report that was compiled has greatly helped in developing it.

The Bill outlines a number of avenues that can be pursued by people in debt. Three non-judicial debt resolution processes are detailed. The first option is that of the debt relief notice which will help people who have unsecured debt of €20,000. The second option is the debt settlement arrangement on unsecured debt with a supervision period of over five years. The third option is the personal insolvency arrangement. This last option will look to secured debt of up to €3 million, though an agreed settlement can go higher with the agreement of all creditors. These options are welcome, and I look forward to the establishment of the insolvency service of Ireland which will act as a point of contact for insolvency measures.

I hope, when the Bill is passed and the technical and structural mechanisms are put in place, that a greater fairness and balance will be brought home to those in financial difficulty. So far, many banks have shown little regard to this fairness. I am particularly angry at the way Permanent TSB has treated its customers. I have received many criticisms of banks from constituents but I have a great disdain for Permanent TSB. It sometimes gives the appearance of addressing the needs of its customers, but it is only an appearance. It has customers who are struggling to repay loans and I know this bank does not give a tuppenny damn for them. I hope this legislation can in some way help these constituents in particular, because it would appear that TSB will not do so on its own.

I look forward to the implementation of the legislation although I would like to ensure that when it is passed all bases are covered and there are no inherent flaws.

I hope we will see the Bill enacted and the processes put in place in the autumn when we can seriously help the thousands of people who are just about keeping their heads above water.

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