Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom mo chomhbhrón a dhéanamh leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle agus leis an Teachta Pearse Doherty agus go háirithe leis na teaghlaigh de na fir óga a fuair bás san timpiste millteanach i nDáilcheantar an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Gabhaim mo bhuíochas chuig an Teachta Pearse Doherty fosta mar chuir sé an Bille tábhachtach seo ar aghaidh.

Mar a dúirt na cainteoirí eile, Sinn Féin does not share the Taoiseach's opinion that vulture funds will willingly make deals with households and write down distressed mortgages. That has not been my experience in my Dáilcheantar in County Louth. We also oppose the Government's support for three Irish mortgage lenders, which the Government wholly or partly owns, selling off distressed residential mortgages to vulture funds. Last August, Ulster Bank sold off a portfolio of 5,200 mortgages to Cerberus. It was a deal worth €1.4 billion. The bank gave its customers 90 days notice of the sale of their mortgages. The Dáil will recall the sale by NAMA of Project Eagle in the North and of Siteserv, and the role of Cerberus in all of this is still the focus of a commission of investigation chaired by Mr. Justice Cooke and of an investigation in the North by the National Crime Agency.

The voluntary code of practice states: "A loan secured by the mortgage of residential property may not be transferred without the written consent of the borrower."

The Central Bank has acknowledged that no lender or credit firm has ever been punished for breaches of the code of conduct. In the years since the economic crash, the Central Bank has been more concerned with the welfare of the banks than the welfare of families at risk of losing their homes, including many in County Louth. Many households and small business owners in the county face uncertain futures because their mortgages have been sold off to vulture funds or whose mortgages might be sold off in the months ahead. An Teachta Pearse Doherty's Bill will protect households against their mortgage being sold to a vulture fund without the permission of the person involved by placing the code of practice into law. If it is good enough to be in the code of practice, it is good enough to be in legislation. I urge all Teachtaí to support this Bill.

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