Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and wish him well on his appointment. We hope he will accept the sentiments contained in this motion. One of our key aims is that action be taken to protect mortgage holders who accrue interest and penalties as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. I have read the Government amendment and it does nothing to alleviate the situation being experienced by tens of thousands of families across the country. Referring a struggling family who will have to pay an additional €4,300 in interest on a 30-year mortgage of €300,000 to the code of conduct on mortgage arrears is nothing short of a slap in the face. These are people who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and, in many cases, through no fault of the businesses that employed them.

As matters stand, the interest owed amounts to approximately €150 million. Instead of instructing the banks to cover that quantum of money, the Government is taking a hands-off approach. The Taoiseach's response this morning to questions from my party leader, Deputy Kelly, was nothing short of weak and anaemic. We are told that the Minister for Finance will meet the banks to have a discussion about this issue. In everyone's experience, a meeting with the banks will do nothing to alleviate this aggravating situation for tens of thousands of families across the country. The Minister is only one week in government but already he and his party are being schooled, once again, by the banks. The European Banking Authority and the Central Bank have confirmed what we already knew, namely, that there is no obligation whatsoever to place high interest rates on the accrual of mortgage debt during this period. AIB, Bank of Ireland and all the others are doing so simply because they can and the Government continues to allow them to do so. There is nothing stopping the banks from taking a different course. The reality is that the Government is taking a hands-off approach and that cannot continue.

I listened very intently earlier to what the representative of the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland had to say in an interview on RTÉ Radio 1. I was astounded that he sought to divide those who can pay their mortgages at the moment from those who cannot. He said, in essence, that any interest break would have to be paid for by other clients of the bank. In other words, he was placing an obligation on the 90% of people who can pay their mortgage to carry the can, as it were, for those who cannot. We know where those kinds of arguments take us. They are the types of arguments used to pit public sector workers against private sector workers and vice versa. It is not a socially constructive thing to do.

We know that the banks have recorded very substantial profits in recent years. AIB, for example, in which the State has a more than 70% stake, has made huge profits. The banking sector was bailed out by a framework designed and co-created by Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. It is high time that the Minister and his colleagues in government reminded the banks of their social and economic obligation to this country. They should be reminded that their obligation is not just to their shareholders but also to wider society and to those people who are struggling at the moment.

We need a clear answer from the Minister today as to what practical actions he will take. We need to hear that he will not just be having a conversation with the banks but that he will, if required, change the law to provide protections for those who are in mortgage arrears. It is an absolute scandal that interest rates are being applied to warehoused portions of mortgages at a time when people can ill afford to meet their repayments. The Minister needs to address this issue clearly and to reassure the people of Ireland that he is on their side, not the side of the banks.

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