Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This issue relates to an ongoing investigation by the Central Bank of Ireland into the misselling of payment protection insurance, PPI, policies to a range of customers over a long number of years potentially. People were sold products that they were never eligible to benefit from. Categories include self-employed people, farmers and people close to retirement when the product was sold to them. Without putting a tooth in it, their money was stolen from them because they were sold products they could never possibly benefit from. I welcome the ongoing Central Bank investigation but it is moving too slowly and I will outline my reasons for saying that.

The investigation is dealing with PPI products that were sold to customers in July 2007. The firms involved who sold them their products have written to approximately 13,000 customers who were sold the products in one particular month, July 2007. If it continues to move at that pace, where they take it month by month, many of the people affected will be waiting a very long time to have any justice or recourse on this issue. It is potentially a very significant issue. Some 340,000 PPI policies were sold since 2007 so it is a very significant issue. In the UK the authorities are ahead of Ireland in resolving the issue. It will cost billions of euro, and in the UK it could potentially cost £14 billion or £15 billion, so it must be resolved.

Why does the review deal only with products sold by firms since July 2007? Are we saying there was no incidence of the misselling of PPI policies before July 2007? I do not believe that. There are two issues relevant to the Financial Services Ombudsman, FSO. One is the current six-year rule whereby a person can submit a complaint to the FSO in respect of a product sold in the last six years. If one takes the example of people who bought the product in July 2007, they have only until July of this year, two months time, to submit a complaint to the FSO. One of my concerns is that if those people do not get any satisfaction from the firm that sold them the product, the clock is ticking very quickly. Another reform we propose in that area, which the Minister is taking on board through a Central Bank Bill, is to allow the FSO to publish the complaints records of individual financial institutions.

What is the timetable for the conclusion of this investigation? It is going on since 2011. It was broadened in 2012 and now, in May 2013, the firms involved are writing to one very small group of customers who bought the product in one month, July 2007.

At that pace, people who bought the product in 2009 and 2010 will be waiting a considerable period for the investigation to be concluded.

I will leave my opening remarks at that. This is about the mis-selling of products. It is essential that the people affected get justice and a relevant form of restitution, whether through compensation, a refund of their money or the adaptation of the scheme to make it suitable for them. In addition, the firms involved which, in my view, knowingly mis-sold these products to thousands of customers should be punished and fines should be levied accordingly. This is the very type of practice that unfortunately prevailed in Ireland for far too long. It needs to be faced up to and I welcome the investigation. However, I want it to be concluded quickly and have tangible results from which people can benefit.

See this speech in context