Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have engaged with some of the stakeholders around the Minister's amendments. We are concerned that the new wording, taken in conjunction with the proposal in section 13, will mean that those in restructured arrangements may not be eligible for a court review. The purpose of the amendments seems at first glance only to strengthen the hand of the banks in putting up another obstacle for the debtor to surmount. The unamended section does not mention restructured debt. By explicitly mentioning it, I fear its purpose could be to exclude rather than include. Additionally, given what the Central Bank's review has shown up in terms of the scandalous failure of banks to implement the code of conduct on mortgage arrears, I wonder whether that particular obstacle for a debtor is inherently unfair. It is said that we have to play by the rules but we know the banks have not been playing by them. We will listen to the Minister's explanation and we will discuss with our Seanad colleagues whether we may seek to amend this Bill in the Seanad.

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