Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The worry of losing one's home or actually losing one's home is desperate. It is sad that even if a person or family has struck a deal with a bank the bank can decide that it does not want to deal with that person any longer and thus the family or the individual has to leave their home. It does not seem right that these financial institutions are allowed to sell off loans to vulture funds that are in no way connected to this State. By way of example, I know of a couple who owed €350,000 but were unable to make the repayments on it. They were in fear of losing their home but nevertheless they remained in the home for some time. Eventually, the loan was sold to a vulture fund. The family came by money and offered to repay what they owed but the vulture fund would not accept their offer. It wanted a repayment equal to double the amount of what was owed. That is the truth.

The Government and the Minister have the power to put in place laws to prevent these foreign financial institutions doing what they are doing here for profit, thus causing misery to our people. As I have previously stated, where families experience difficulty repaying their loans the local authorities should be funded to buy their loans from the mortgage holders and to allow the families remain in those homes as tenants, with an opportunity to buy back the house in the future if they get back on their feet. We should be doing that rather than allowing mortgages to be sold to foreign vulture funds.

The Irish people will not be happy with this Government if it allows Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank to sell off their loans to vulture funds. As I said, the Government and the Minister have the power to stop that happening. They need to legislate to prevent the sale of mortgages by Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank to vulture funds. I have been contacted by numerous people over the last couple of weeks who are terrified of this happening. Now is the time for the Government and the Minister to take a stand and to legislate to prevent this happening. It should have not happened before but we cannot go backwards. I am pleading with the Minister to not allow this to happen.

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