Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Donnelly for raising this matter and, in fairness, he has raised it throughout the process. The concern is that we would not have a situation whereby the bankruptcy period would be reduced in real effect. There is also concern about a bank veto and opposition amendments have been tabled to try to curtail that, but they have been resisted.

I have had a chance to read over some of the comments made by Ray MacSharry and his colleague Margaret Hayes who are public interest directors with Permanent TSB. For the record, they have been paid €510,000 in fees since 2008. It is a hell of a lot of money to represent the public interest. I am shocked at what Deputy Donnelly has reported and what I have just read about these comments. It goes against all the debate we have had on debt forgiveness in Irish society in recent years. The Government has had an objective to deal with this issue. Deputy Donnelly has spoken at length about this area of huge concern to people. Not having a reduction in the period of bankruptcy is a very punishing system in this State.

I presume this Bill will be passed tonight and will go to the President for his stamp of approval. We will then need to reassure the public that at last there is some mechanism or process in place for people who were not reckless and believed what they saw in the media from their political leaders, economists and estate agents - that there would be a soft landing if anything went wrong. At the time, they were encouraged to purchase a home and invest. We now know that 24% of home owners are in mortgage distress. It involves approximately 180,000 families and individuals so we have a real crisis on our hands and this Bill is part of the response to that. It is critical, however, that the message comes from Government that if the banks and other financial institutions abuse any element of this legislation to prevent genuine debt forgiveness to families in that situation, the Government will immediately move - as quickly as it pushed through the family home tax legislation last night with a guillotine - to address that issue.

While we have serious concerns, and Deputy Donnelly has outlined his concerns also, we hope the impact of this legislation is to make a difference. Nonetheless, the arrogant comments of Ray MacSharry and Richie Boucher are acting against the public interest. I do not need to remind the Minister that these financial institutions are now under the control of the Irish people, so there needs to be a bit of humility particularly among public interest directors.

My final point throws the whole matter into sharp focus. The Law Reform Commission held an event last week at which one of the main points of focus concerned corporate responsibility and legislation in the area of white collar crime. There were some really interesting contributions. At the end, the eminent national and international experts were asked to define the role of public interest directors and what they have achieved. It was clear from the responses that they were not quite sure. Ultimately, however, they appeared to be still acting in the interests of the banks and their shareholders, even though that is not what they are paid to do.

I appreciate the Minister's immediate response to these comments. He has not had a chance to look at the transcript, but I would invite him to examine those comments. When the legislation is passed, he should act immediately to reassure the public that those outrageous comments are rebuked and confronted. Reassurance should be given that if banks seek to abuse this legislation and do not meet their responsibilities to give people a chance of debt resolution, the Government will move extremely swiftly - as swiftly as it did with the property or family home tax yesterday - to address whatever arises and put this thing straight.

One of the biggest challenges facing our people over the next generation involves mortgage distress, debt resolution and debt forgiveness for families who need a chance to move on. I appreciate that a huge amount of work and deliberation has gone into this legislation. Deputy Niall Collins and I have sat through all of the debate with the Minister. We have serious concerns and if they are quickly vindicated, I urge the Minister to reassure the public swiftly. We cannot have all the work and goodwill that has gone into this legislation torn apart by people who are acting against the interests of the Irish people, yet who are, unbelievably, being paid by the public.

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