Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important legislation, the Protection of Residential Mortgage Account Holders Bill 2014. I compliment Deputy Michael McGrath for bringing forward this time-sensitive legislation, given the impending sale by the special liquidators, KPMG, of IBRC’s 13,000 mortgages which will result in 13,000 individuals, families and fellow citizens being left vulnerable. Currently mortgage holders, whose loans are with financial institutions regulated by the Central Bank, enjoy the protection of the code of conduct on mortgage arrears and have recourse to the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman if a dispute arises with their lender. However, if these mortgages in question are sold to an unregulated third party, our fellow citizens will not enjoy the code, meaning they are potentially exposed to higher variable rates, more interest surcharges and a heightened risk of repossession. As Deputy Ó Cuív said earlier, if there were no need for the code, why is it there in the first instance?

While I welcome the Government’s acceptance of Deputy Michael McGrath’s legislation, why has it taken so long for it to acknowledge that something had to be done? Why has it taken such forceful opposition by my colleague, Deputy Michael McGrath, and public outcry for the Government, as it said in its own press release, to “re-prioritise” this legislation? The Government knew this legislation was needed because it had a similar Bill scheduled in its legislative programme for 2015. While it is all very well to accept this legislation, will the Government give a clear timeframe for the passage of this Bill? The Government is great at playing optics, accepting legislation on Second Stage. It did not oppose its backbenchers’ legislation on wind farms on Second Stage over 18 months ago. That legislation, however, is now gathering dust on a shelf in Government Buildings.

When IBRC was to be liquidated, the House sat all night to ensure the relevant legislation went through. This week we have the farcical situation in the Dáil with Minister after Minister coming into the Chamber to pat themselves on the back for work done over the past three years but no legislation being debated. The 13,000 families who will be thrown to the wolves on 14 March would prefer to see the House debating this legislation, ensuring it goes through all Stages to be enacted before 14 March. Is it correct this legislation cannot be retrospectively enforced, meaning those 13,000 families will be left in a precarious situation if the Bill is not enacted before 14 March? Last week, it was confirmed at the Oireachtas finance committee that the voluntary compliance with the code that the funds bidding for these mortgages said they would observe is not written down, has no legal standing, would not be policed by the Central Bank, is utterly unenforceable, does not include recourse to the Financial Services Ombudsman and would fall entirely if the mortgage were sold on again. It is important for the Minister for Finance to give a clear timeframe for the enactment of this legislation. This would send a strong and positive message to the 13,000 people who will be affected by this sale in the next several weeks that we are not throwing them to the wolves and will accept, albeit with some amendments, this Bill initiated by Deputy Michael McGrath.

The Government is not just letting these people down in not affording them statutory protection but also in not affording them any write-down if they were able to re-finance their loans. They will have to pay the full value of their loan while unsympathetic, unregulated vulture funds can avail of massive write-downs. This is a regrettable development which is effectively the Government giving the two fingers to these people who have worked hard to meet their commitments and pay their mortgages. I am not at all surprised by this, however, because the priority the Government has shown the mortgage crisis since coming into office is nothing short of scandalous. The mortgage arrears statistics are a shocking indictment of the strategy adopted by the Government to deal with the crisis. The number of people in mortgage arrears has doubled since this Government came to power. Behind all these statistics, there are harrowing stories.

Like Members on this side, I am sure both Ministers of State will be aware of the serious financial position of many families and of their harrowing stories. There is a vacuum in adequate advice available to help people in financial distress. Reference might be made to MABS but the service does not always have suitably qualified staff at the ready and it is at breaking point. The Minister of State may refer to the debt management advice service authorised by the Central Bank. My understanding is that only six firms nationally have availed of this service.

I recently held an information day in my constituency office. I offered free consultations with financial advisers and personal insolvency practitioners. I was dumbfounded by the uptake but what was more astonishing was that the people who came in were at breaking point. They were embarrassed to come to my office and they asked whether there was somewhere more discreet where they could wait because they did not want to be seen in these circumstances. The problem is they are not getting supports from the State. The Government may well talk about the insolvency legislation and while the insolvency service is up and running within six months of enactment, it is not working. The proof is that in the recent months there have been more bankruptcy cases than insolvency cases. Banks are not engaging with people. I have examples of cases on which I have worked on behalf of constituents dealing with the banks. I do not have the time to go through them. However, the banks are not subject to a specific timeframe. In one instance, the original contact was made in December 2012 and a resolution came about only last week. There were 214 entries on my system relating to telephone calls and letters on behalf of the client. That shows the banks are not engaging.

I acknowledge I have strayed from the purpose of the Bill, which is the same as that of another Bill my colleague brought forward more than two years ago regarding independent debt settlement offices. That Bill was not opposed either on Second Stage but it has not been enacted and because of that, there is no independent watchdog overseeing the banks to ensure they facilitate and work with people in distress who come forward with credible solutions.

I ask the Government to give this issue the priority it deserves. It should not use this debate as a window dressing exercise by not opposing the Bill on Second Stage. The Minister of State should clearly outline in his reply when this important legislation will be enacted. I have no doubt he has an interest in this issue and I ask him to convey to the Minister for Finance and to the Cabinet that much greater priority needs to be afforded to the many families who are at breaking point because of their financial circumstances.

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