Dáil debates

Wednesday, 14 September 2022

Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Commission of Investigation Report: Statements

 

6:35 pm

Photo of Richard O'DonoghueRichard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Having looked at this report, I can see where the financial crash started. I can see an Ireland that was not about the ordinary person in the street who was not able to pay back a mortgage. It was about total corruption during a time when people had to emigrate, when people lost their homes and when many people lost their lives worrying about repaying loans. I remember clearly someone asking me a simple question back in 2008 or 2009. They asked where had all the money gone. They said it cannot just have disappeared. It did and that is what this report has told me.

Imagine any business being offered a restructuring loan of €70 million of interest only and approximately €80 million of interest-free debt, which was offered to Siteserv. It was a time when share options, commissions and valuations were not even being considered. Where did the compassion go when it came to the ordinary person who was trying to manage their debt? The banks at the time asked mortgage holders to fill out standard financial statements. What an embarrassment. However, nobody cared, not the regulator, not the Central Bank of Ireland and not the Government. What has changed today? The ordinary person on the street and in a rural area is at the bottom of the barrel compared to the Government. The Government does not care. It is looking after the big conglomerates. It is not looking after the ordinary people.

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