Séamus Healy (Tipperary, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach said the Central Bank has been in contact with the Garda but he knows that no formal complaint has been made either by the Central Bank or the Taoiseach, who is quite entitled to make a complaint. The banks have a 30-year history of scandal after scandal and have been rewarded for that. The public was forced to bail them out to the tune of €64 billion and citizens have suffered desperate austerity and deprivation as a result. Variable rate mortgage holders are being ripped off by having to pay twice the EU average rate. Unfortunately, successive Governments have protected the bankers. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, was sent in to discuss the issue and admonish the banks, whatever that means. At best, it is a slap on the wrist. It is possible that the banks will be fined. The Taoiseach knows that any fine levied on the banks will be paid by their customers. Why is the Government deliberately avoiding sending in the Garda and making a formal complaint on the matter as either the Taoiseach or the Government could? Is it not now clear that banks and bankers can only be brought to their senses by criminal investigation? The Taoiseach should send in forensic accountants from the Garda and the fraud squad and should do so now.

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