Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Kenny for his good wishes and look forward to working with him during my time as Minister. As I said in my response, I have arranged a meeting on 29 June with the new CEO of the bank in question, Mr. Mallon. I will raise all of the issues that affect farmers, including credit and the sale of loans. It is not a question of the bank selling land; rather, it is selling distressed loans. I take the Deputy's point. In many respects, these bad debts arise from off-farm investments rather than investments involving matters inside farm gates. That is a specific issue which I will raise with the CEO.

As I mentioned in my response, the previous Minister was in contact with the bank in April. I have already been in contact with it and have arranged a meeting. Officials in my Department are in continuous contact. It is important to emphasise that the sale of loans does not have an adverse impact on the rights contained in the original contracts between borrowers and lenders. A critical factor to note is that the same protections exist legally for borrowers in respect of the sale of loans to third parties.

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