John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. Fianna Fáil will support its principle and sentiment but will table some amendments to strengthen it.

We have all campaigned in recent months. In County Kerry, I campaigned in towns such as Tralee, Killarney and Killorglin, as well as in rural areas. I also did some campaigning in Dublin. As one goes along, one picks up on issues that educate one about what is actually going on rather than what we are told. For example, while canvassing I came across a couple who have a business with a few properties and who owed just over €1 million to the bank. They agreed a settlement with the bank and were selling off the properties to hold on to the business. They were paying 80% of what they owed, as agreed with the bank. Nothing happened for five or six weeks. They could not contact anybody or receive an answer to emails or phone calls. When they eventually succeeded, they were informed their properties were now part of a group of 450 other properties and were being sold to a fund, but that was the first they had heard of it. That is utterly unacceptable. We still own 71% of AIB, 14% of Bank of Ireland and 75% of Permanent TSB. However we wish to dress it up as politicians, the public expects us to exert some control and give some help to distressed mortgage holders.

They saw how we had bailed out the banks and now they are asking the Government to legislate for the banks to help them out. This is not unreasonable and it is not happening in isolation, as we are in the middle of a housing crisis. It is not as if all of these loans will not create another problem if they are sold on and the new vulture fund does not deal fairly with the people living in these houses. That is a real concern. I imagine the banks are under pressure from the European Union to sell the loans and get their loan books in order, but sometimes we just have to say no to the European Union. We have always been good enough Europeans, but do we choose citizens or being good Europeans? I say we should look after citizens.

I ask the Minister to consider two very practical measures. There are 63,000 mortgage accounts in arrears and until the housing crisis is resolved, bulk selling of these accounts to vulture funds should be prevented. The second consideration is developments being purchased in their entirety by investment funds. For example, a development of 50 houses may be bought in its entirety by a vulture fund. This means that a young couple who are trying to get into the property market are excluded from it. The fund then controls the properties and the rents charged, which adds to the developing housing crisis.

On Jersey people cannot buy a property if they are not from the island. That is probably extreme, but it is factual. As far as I understand, in New Zealand investment funds are not allowed to bulk-buy properties. We should be looking at measures such as this to support citizens and stop vulture funds from taking advantage of properties they can buy for half nothing to be moved on at a later stage to make profits for the investors. I am not interested in making profits for investors but in looking after citizens. We looked after the banks which should now help citizens out of the crisis.

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