Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing my time with Deputies Danny Healy-Rae and Mattie McGrath. What is euphemistically known as the banking culture which allowed this scandal to happen is a failure to distinguish right from wrong. It is a failure to distinguish honesty from dishonesty, and ethics is at the core of this issue as well as a lack of standards and a lack of compassion. These are perhaps very old-fashioned ideas but they go beyond sharp practice into the realms of fraud, illegality and persecution.

It is an abuse of power - financial power. It is, in fact, financial terrorism. Banks which were on their knees several years ago and were bailed out by the taxpayer have now inflicted this torture on customers, bleeding them dry due to greed and abuse of financial power, inflicting huge human cost, both emotional and physical.

These were boardroom decisions which have to be implemented by somebody. Where does the Financial Services Union stand on this issue? Were its members involved in applying dishonest boardroom decisions and forcing customers to pay more for their mortgages or sell their homes? The Minister's statement made no reference to accountability, responsibility or criminal liability. Tracker mortgages are not the only issue on which banks abused customers. Many customers were pursued for a residual debt, having sold their property on the insistence of the bank. Many were not informed that such a sale did not clear their debt and they are being pursued for outstanding debt which they cannot clear. To add insult to injury, they are facing the prospect of having this debt sold on to vulture companies.

The Minister referred to the Central Bank carrying out the largest review in the history of the State yet the Central Bank did not uncover any financial illegality in this review. I believe the Central Bank and the Department of Finance should consider introducing an alternative banking system, that of a community banking system along the lines of the Sparkassemodel which has operated successfully in Germany for many years. This model is locally focused on the community, has low interest rates and is not for shareholder profits, with any profits reinvested back into the community. Why are the Department and the Central Bank so lukewarm on this issue? Is it because they want to protect the dominant position of the banks? There is a responsibility on the Minister to seriously address the community banking issue and embrace it as an alternative model to commercial banks, which are abusing customers repeatedly. A community bank, publicly owned and focused on its community, would have the benefit of supporting the fabric of a community and, if it was based on the post office network, would ensure the survival of that network.

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