Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank every contributor to tonight's debate and acknowledge the work of every member of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, led by Deputy McGuinness, Deputy Pearse Doherty and others. The overall message from tonight's debate is that the nightmare has to end for thousands of mortgage customers, many of whom are dealing with this issue and carrying the loss for approximately ten years. I do not trust what the banks are doing. When I consider banks that have already examined the issue, KBC, PermanentTSB, Bank of Ireland examined it prior to the current investigation. Across those banks, more than an additional 6,000 customers have now been found to have been wrongly denied their tracker interest rate or put on the wrong rate.

That is the record. That is the reality.

The banks are not quaking in their boots tonight following the Minister's statement and intervention. The extra steps the Minister threatened are a puff of smoke. They are not serious enough to deal with this issue. I asked every bank that appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach had it investigated how this happened. If I were the chief executive of a bank that was having to pay €100 million or €200 million I would want to know how it happened. Not one of them has conducted an internal investigation. They say their focus is on correcting the issue and stopping the harm. That is rubbish. They have not looked back because they know how this happened.

I and my party will stay the course. We will hold the Minister, the Government, the Central Bank and certainly the banks to account. The litmus test of this issue will not just be whether those affected get justice, get their money back and get their compensation immediately but also whether the questions of how this happened in the first place, who is accountable, who is responsible and will they be held responsible, are answered.

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