John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was contacted in recent days by the owner of a well-known equestrian centre in the south east, Stonehaven. It had run into arrears of €3,000 on a bank loan following a downturn in business. The lady had successfully paid more than two thirds of her repayments last year and continued to make regular, albeit reduced payments, on the loan. However, last week a tractor – crucial to the day-to-day functioning of the business - was repossessed.

I will briefly outline the facts. This was not a company that had washed its hands of debt. It had already paid €42,000 of a €52,000 loan and was making efforts to catch up on the arrears owed despite a substantial decline in business. However, the bank service agent was not happy and, accordingly, arrived in the yard and took the tractor. It is staggering that a viable company that employs 15 people is in jeopardy based on arrears of €3,000 while 167 former bank executives are on pensions of more than €100,000 per annum.

I am in politics for 15 years. I topped the poll twice as a councillor and I have been mayor of Waterford. I am the only Deputy elected from Waterford city. I say that because I meet hundreds of ordinary people – small businesspeople and others in business - every week who tell me that the Government has badly underestimated the anger, infuriation and resentment at how the banks treated people and are still treating people. It is a barometer of what is happening all over the country. Let us cut to the chase - advising banks to issue letters to their senior executives seeking cuts to pensions will not achieve anything. A substantial number of those individuals are responsible for the state of the country.

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