Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this important motion. The wrongful removal of tracker mortgage rates from mortgage holders is yet another scandal in a long list of scandals from within Ireland's financial sector. Families and individuals who were entitled to lower mortgage repayment rates were deliberately misled and exploited by these institutions, which were losing money due to their own incompetence. The scandal only came to light through the initiative of people who were being exploited and took their cases to the Financial Services Ombudsman. There are many who have already been forced from their homes or were coerced into surrendering their homes due to the exorbitant rates unfairly imposed on them. The actions of the banks that engaged in this deception are deplorable and will rightly be condemned by all sides of the House tonight. This scandal has taught us yet again that empty platitudes of condemnation and concern for victims is not enough to tackle the problem of white collar misconduct.

It is particularly galling to see that some of the banks that were bailed out by the State, at great financial and social cost, have caused further hardship to people who saved them from collapse. To say that these institutions behaved unprofessionally is to put it mildly. Poor judgement and reckless management practices within the financial sector cost this State and its people €64 billion, with a large part of that debt being passed on to our children and grandchildren. The response of the banks has been to force some mortgage holders to pay for the costs of their incompetence.

As well as the scandal of the bailout and denying people their rightful mortgage rates on tracker mortgages, we cannot forget those who to this day live under constant threat and harassment from financial institutions that seek mortgage repayments for overpriced homes. My county of Laois has seen some of the highest rates of mortgage arrears in the country according to the Central Bank, with 16% of mortgages in arrears of three months or more and many people still trapped in negative equity. The figure for County Kildare is also high, with one in eight mortgages in arrears of more than 90 days. I say directly to the Minister of Finance that the response from the Government has been minuscule. The mortgage-to-rent scheme and the other schemes are not working. People are trapped in these situations. Many of them are willing and eager to arrange fair and affordable repayment plans but they do not have the same power or leverage as the financial institutions. The vulture funds who buy the loans have power. We have seen the power they have in recent times.

This whole saga only goes to prove that the captains of private capital are incapable of acting fairly or ethically. It underlines the need for a State banking sector that operates ethically, plans for the long-term future and works for the benefit of the people not just the captains of finance. There is nothing revolutionary about this. We talk about how much we like Germany. Many countries have successful state and public banking systems like the Sparkassenmodel in Germany, yet Ireland remains committed to the private-only model which has produced a litany of failures and scandals. We need a comprehensive redress scheme. It is the least the victims of this latest scandal deserve. However, if we are to avoid similar scandals in the future, a major overhaul of existing laws is required.

If the Government wants to claim it is acting in the interests of the people rather than the interests of the bankers, the Minister is obligated to act on the recommendations of the motion. I cannot see how anybody can argue with it. It is the fair and right thing to do.

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