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

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this important matter. I thank Deputy Mattie McGrath for doing so much work in the background to get this Private Members' business up and running. I regret the sarcastic attack that the Minister made on us because we are raising this issue. He says that we do not have a monopoly, which we do not. We have an understanding and the Government does not. We are asking the Government to deal with the matter where vulture funds are profiting from vulnerable people. We know what is happening. It is a traumatic time for a family to lose their home and to have to leave. Other things could be done to prevent that. The Government is giving money to local authorities to buy houses and compete against first-time buyers on the open market instead of building houses. The Government could do different things. It could buy these houses, give the funds to the local authorities, and rent the houses back to the families. In time, maybe they could get on their feet again and go from renting to getting a loan and buying back the house. They would remain in their home. It would mean that small children could stay in their own little bedrooms and sitting rooms, and they could keep using the kitchen and the fridge that they were used to.

Small businesses, farmers and people who survived the crash and who paid employees are still going to the wall because lenders will not even talk to the people who are in trouble. The next thing that happens is that the vultures sell off their properties and leave them behind. It cannot be right for the borrower to be overruled after going into a contract with a certain lender, bank or mortgage company. They overrule it and give the poor borrower no say about what it is doing. We know what vultures are on a farm. They are great crows that come and pick the eyes out of a lamb or a calf. I have seen it myself. They are left to die. I know what we are talking about when we talk about vulture funds. I appreciate people who employ others, as Deputy Michael Healy-Rae said, because I employ people. I do not know if the Minister understands it, since I do not know what his background is, but I certainly know that Friday evening comes very quickly if one has 20, 40 or 60 men to pay. If a payment does not come in, things can start to go wrong very quickly. Even after all the years of building up something, one can start to get into trouble. People need a bit of time. As Deputy Brassil said, these institutions will not even answer calls and talk to people, which is wrong.

I read a sign in front of a pub in Killarney stating that a bank is an institution that will lend money if a person does not need it or has money. We saw that when farmers were supposed to get cheap loans. The Government made a big announcement about farmers getting loans to deal with the fodder shortage. I know what happened. If someone was a short way into the red, that person got no loan. Only the fellows who did not need them got the loans. That is wrong but it is the truth.

I am hurt by the sarcastic way in which the Minister attacked us for tabling this motion. We may not have a monopoly and I agree with him on that, but we have an understanding and know that people are hurt. This is wrong. The Minister and the Government have the power to stop this.

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