Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is simple but very important legislation. In November last, Permanent TSB announced it was selling 6,139 loans linked to family homes to vulture funds. These mortgages involve families who were meeting their agreed arrangements with the banks. They were fully up to date but the sale still went ahead. I have an issue with any sale to vulture funds but these sales were particularly heinous.

This is not a complicated Bill. It is sensible and not especially drastic. It simply wishes to provide a legal basis for a code of practice that sensibly believes that if a bank is selling one's mortgage, one should be able to say "Yes" or "No. I took my mortgage out with you and I would like for it to stay that way instead of being given to a vulture fund. Thank you very much".

The Bill builds on the Central Bank's own code of practice on the transfer of mortgages. The first line of the code of practice states: "A loan secured by the mortgage of residential property may not be transferred without the written consent of the borrower". Until recently, it seemed to be the view of Government that this should be respected. The former Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, stated: "Notwithstanding its voluntary nature, I expect that best practice dictates that the code be applied by all institutions to all classes of residential properties." What is the reason for the change? Why is the Government so enamoured with vulture funds now that it and the Central Bank are willing to disregard their previous code of practice?

The victims of this are hard-working families and individuals who are doing their best to recover after banks crashed the economy. It is time for action, and Sinn Féin says that enough is enough. The Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, may be a lover of vulture funds. I am not, nor is Sinn Féin. The Government may say that the Bill may discourage or stop vulture funds coming here. Given that their business is buying up half the country, all for a quick buck, with no long-term interest or regard for us as a people or a community or for those whose properties they have the loans belonging to, that is no bad thing.

The banks selling off these loans are not paying a penny of tax. They are subsidised by us by the help-to-buy scheme. They have been allowed to charge rip-off interest rates. It is time that we said enough is enough. We need legislation to stop the sale of these loans to these vulture funds where the borrower has clearly said they do not wish it to be sold. They are entitled to that, and the Government should back this legislation.

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