Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the view of the Government, any failures by the banks should be ruthlessly pursued. We have no truck with behaviour that brings people to the state of frustration and dismay we have seen. The Taoiseach was very clear yesterday that any powers the Central Bank needs will be provided and that the Government will not be afraid to take other measures, including enhancing the bank levy which is set to raise €750 million between now and 2021. The Minister for Finance will call in the banks and will address the issues the Deputy has raised. The Government takes this extremely seriously.

Everybody hates someone who stands up in the Dáil and says "I told you so" but when I was my party's spokesman on finance in 2004, when the Fianna Fáil Government introduced the Central Bank Bill I said very clearly that it was a defective Bill. It lacked the teeth for prudential regulation and consumer protection but that was the legislation that prevailed for much of the time this happened. There are limitations in some of the current legislative machinery but the Government will not tolerate banks failing in their obligations to their customers and to those people who have been particularly affected by the tracker mortgage issue.

The Deputy is right to say that, given the appalling trauma in our economy and our society caused by bad bank lending and poor regulation, there is now an absolute obligation on banks to fulfil their responsibilities to their clients. The Central Bank and the Government should and will take this very seriously.

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