Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I am glad to hear that, but many farmers are concerned that when loans are sold to entities outside the State they may not come under the same control and regulation as pertains to banks registered in the State.

The Minister is quite correct that many loans were generated from off-farm activities. I am aware of a farmer who had some money in his local bank during the boom, when everything was going well. He was called in to meet the bank manager, who told the farmer that he should invest money in something. He said that the bank had a particular set of investments available, and it would top up the farmer's savings by lending him money. It was through the encouragement of the banks that people got into so much debt. The bubble burst and the gravy train that banks set up for people at the end of their retirement or whatever all went wrong. People were left with significant debts and they are now under a threat in that their loans may be sold to vulture funds. Naturally, most people are very fearful that such funds would have no compassion for farmers living in rural Ireland and would sell their property. Many such difficulties have arisen in a particular set of circumstances, in many cases where banks were the key players in creating the debt in the first place.

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