Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not think bankers feel the Government is about to impose a levy as a result of the approach they have taken in opposition to Government policy. The Tánaiste has, frankly, bought a large supply of the banks' Kool-Aid. The notion that tracker mortgages are the root of all evil is not the case and it would be worth the Tánaiste's while to look into it. If that was the issue, one could turn to the decision that was taken at the EU Council meeting in June 2012, which the Tánaiste and others hailed as seismic and a phenomenal game changer with the potential to resolve much of the legacy issues. Within that, the overhang from the tracker mortgage issue could have been dealt with. However, we discovered here on Tuesday that the Government never even applied to the ESM for funding under that decision as it now believes the banks are resolving the issue without recourse to the ESM. Does the Tánaiste know how the banks are doing it without recourse to the ESM? It is on the backs of the 300,000 variable interest rate mortgage holders in the State. The balance sheets are being repaired and the Government is preparing to sell its stake in the banks all on the backs of those 300,000 mortgage holders. The Government needs to come clean on that. Will the Tánaiste at least reiterate the Government's previous statement to the effect that it is prepared to impose a levy on the banks if they fail to acquiesce to an appropriate rate reduction commensurate with the cost of funds today rather than in the past? That is what we all want to see.

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