Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is not the first time the State has had to respond to wrongdoing by banks. In fact, it is not the first time that the State has had to respond to banks taking money from customers without their permission. We must recognise that there is great fury about this for two reasons. First, many of those who have these mortgages are people who bought their properties at the height of a property market and found it difficult enough to make the payments anyway in the orthodox fashion. Furthermore, fraudulent charges were put atop their ordinary mortgage repayments. The second reason people are so irritated is that banks have got away with too much for too long in this country. Even people with short memories will remember that the banks were bailed out by the State. People with long memories will remember the ICI issue. It is the combination of the vulnerability of the people involved and the repeated behaviour of the banks that is causing so much outrage.

The response of the Central Bank has been far too slow to date and it has been too timid in dealing with the banks. We need a lion tamer but instead we have a shepherd, which brings me to the role of the Government. The Government has been far too tame. I read the front page of The Irish Timesthe other day that the Minister said unless the banks respond to this and get their act together, they will be named. It is of no consequence to the banks that they will be named. The Minister must reflect on the fact that something similar to this happened back in 1998 when National Irish Bank was identified as having overcharged its customers. In response, the Minister for Finance in the then Government went to the High Court and had inspectors appointed. As a result of the appointment of those inspectors, a clear, independent examination by external accountants took place into what was happening in the banks. We got a report in respect of it. We also got those inspectors to ensure there was a proper overview of the compensatory scheme introduced by the banks to ensure that people were given redress.

Unfortunately, this is not the most recent example of the failure of banks to fulfil their obligations to society and the State. This morning, the justice committee considered Deputy Michael McGrath's Mortgage Arrears Resolution (Family Home) Bill. Representatives from the Insolvency Service of Ireland attended the committee and informed us that the legislation dealing with personal insolvency which was put in place in 2012 has not resulted in constructive engagement from the banks. It is about time the Minister got tough with the banks and realised they only respond to pressure, not to nice language.

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