Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As I understand it, the Cabinet sub-committee is trying to find solutions to the problems of mortgage arrears and the lack of credit. There is not a Teachta Dála who has not had to deal with hard-pressed families who are beside themselves because they cannot afford to repay their mortgages. While some progress has been made, there has been very little in dealing with the issue of long-term mortgage arrears. Meanwhile, business people in the small and medium enterprise sector, in which about 70% of people are employed, cannot obtain the required finance. This is particularly the case for businesses which could potentially progress at this time. How does the Government deal with this matter?

In July the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform produced a good report, for which, I understand, there was cross-party support. It called for worthwhile policy changes, including, for example, the rejection of the Cental Bank's general acceptance of legal solutions as sustainable and a request for the Minister to intervene, in line with his stated views, and ensure legal letters were not regarded as satisfactory solutions.

Another recommendation made in the report was that each bank involved in the mortgage arrears resolution target process be mandated to provide all relevant customers with all available solutions as specified in the code of conduct on mortgage arrears. It is such a simple matter.

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The committee called for the promised legislation on the code of conduct on mortgage arrears, CCMA, to be progressed with the utmost urgency by the Department of Finance to provide both legislative protection to homeowners and address the legal uncertainty that exists at present. These are practical suggestions, put together after consultation between the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and homeowners, the banks and organisations working with people in mortgage distress. The Government appears to show no interest in implementing them. I am trying to figure out the role of the Cabinet sub-committee, if any, in dealing with reports like this from the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform.

With regard to credit availability, the Credit Review Office published a report recently that said there had been some progress but noted, "there continues to be a challenge in obtaining finance for those SMEs which have been distressed but are now recovering, and are viable or potentially viable – particularly those with property debt overhangs". The report speaks of market failure on the supply side. In other words, we do not have a functional credit system. Can the Taoiseach respond to these two reports, one of which is from the Credit Review Office and the other from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform. Can the Taoiseach give us a sense of how he intends to progress this?

One of the big election promises was the so-called State bank, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland. It is not a bank and will only lend on to banks in the hope the banks will lend to SMEs. These are the banks that are criticised by the Credit Review Office. Will the Government consider applying for a banking licence for the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland and give us some sense of where the Cabinet sub-committee does its work? Does the sub-committee communicate with the banks? Has the Taoiseach asked the banks whether they will take on board the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform or from the Credit Review Office?

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