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

I will be brief. I want to put on record our thanks to the Minister for facilitating and supporting the legislation and for making the process as straightforward and efficient as possible. I thank in particular the officials within the Department of Finance. They did a great deal of work on this Bill. They had significant contact with the Central Bank. I know many work-hours went into the Bill. I deeply appreciate the efforts that have been put in. I also wish to acknowledge the anticipated support from the other strands of the political spectrum.

We are not presenting this Bill for more than what it is. It is not a silver bullet. It will not solve every issue of mortgage arrears or the issues of small and medium-sized enterprises that are struggling with excessive debt. However, it will for the first time ensure that the ultimate owners of these loans can be and will be directly regulated by the statutory regulator in our country, the Central Bank of Ireland. That is an important step.

It is important to put on record as well that if there are attempts to circumvent this legislation – we are not naive – we maintain it has been crafted a way that will address that. Let us suppose there is a pyramid of a certain structure with a fund at the top of the structure. Organisations can set up whatever entities they want as part of that structure. However, if the ultimate decisions are being made and the overall strategy for the future of a given loan portfolio is being determined at the top of that pyramid – it will be because of the business model that these companies operate – then all the elements will be captured by this legislation and the new regulatory regime. That is an important point to put on the record.

Many other issues need to be dealt with, including those raised at the beginning of Report Stage around interest rates. The Minister knows my thoughts and ideas on these matters and we will be discussing them further along with the issues around the Insolvency Service of Ireland. We are not blind to the ingredients that feed in to the cost of credit in Ireland, but there are ways of tackling the matter in a responsible way and in a way that will seek to bring about better value for customers. We saw only yesterday the latest report from the Central Bank. It shows the direction of profitability of banks in Ireland, and the direction is clear. We see the direction of the net interest margin, which has been growing considerably in recent years as we have emerged from the crisis. Further interventions are necessary. We want to see more competition in the market. That would be welcome. There are some emerging signs that competition will come.

We welcome the anticipated passage of this legislation. We appeal to the Government to generously provide Government time in the Seanad to ensure the Bill can complete its journey in the Seanad efficiently. We would like to see this Bill signed into law before Christmas so that for the first time, these loan owners and vulture funds will now be directly regulated and within the reach of the Central Bank. The Central Bank will be able to knock on their door, ask questions, demand answers, hold them to account and insist on transparency in how they do their business. That is an important step and a good day's work.

See this speech in context