Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The problem with banks is they seem to operate without reference to ethical standards. Too often they do not seem to appreciate the difference between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. It does not seem to bother their conscience that overcharging on mortgages results in families either losing their homes or being subject to the most horrendous stress, both financial and emotional. The banks must be made to care and if it requires strong legislation to make them honest, so be it.

It was a few days before Christmas that the Central Bank disclosed that at least 8,200 home owners were denied a tracker mortgage by their lender and shortly afterwards, the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Philip Lane, conceded that the number of people affected by the tracker mortgage scandal could be as high as 15,000. It is unconscionable that banks wrongfully removed tracker mortgages from mortgage holders or failed to restore tracker mortgage rates to which they were entitled. It seems people mainly affected by this scandal are those who were either denied a right to or an option of a particular tracker interest rate, or the rate was not given in accordance with their contract.

The motion notes that in October 2013, the Central Bank head of financial regulation, Mr. Matthew Elderfield, stated that he did not believe that current legislation on the Statute Book is strong enough to bring people to account for white collar crime. If that is the case we must change our legislation. If we can bring a shoplifter to court and sometimes to jail, surely we must throw the book at organisations and individuals whose wrongful action has robbed families of their rightful tracker rate and sometimes of their homes. The Minister for Finance has stated that what happened was outrageous and the Fianna Fáil spokesman, Deputy Micheal McGrath, described it as scandalous. Both seem to agree that the buck stops with the Central Bank and Fianna Fáil has called on it to exercise its statutory powers fully to ensure this issue is comprehensively resolved. However, the question raised in 2013 by Mr. Elderfield as to whether Irish law is strong enough to tackle white collar crime is worth repeating. Perhaps the Central Bank could tell us if the legislation is sufficiently strong to deal effectively with crime in financial institutions. If there are sufficient powers, the Central Bank must pursue offenders in co-operation with gardaí and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. If legislation is insufficient, the Government and the Oireachtas must be informed and it would be up to us to give the bank the tools to do the job.

See this speech in context