Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman. I appreciate his forbearance. We did not see this matter listed on the schedule. We thank the Acting Chairman for allowing us in to contribute to the Second Stage debate on the Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022. That is a mouthful.

I have great respect for the Minister of State. I have great time for him as a colleague, a backbencher and now as a Minister of State. However, the banks are running amok. It seems to me that the Government wishes to allow them to run amok. It introduces legislation and tell them this and that but there is a monopoly in there. It is a very worrying situation now. Deputies Michael Collins, Nolan and I visited a number of banks on behalf of customers. KBC was one of those banks. KBC is exiting the market and the country now along with Ulster Bank and others.

We will have less competition.

I will never forget the night of the bank guarantee, and I am tired of repeating this. My single biggest political mistake was voting for that, following the pleading of the late Brian Lenihan and others. However, I pressed the button, although there were no buttons at that time and we had to walk through the lobbies. Ever since, they have created a crisis and pushed us all into a state of collapse. They got a bank guarantee and debts written off. Then it came to the so-called bailout, which I described as a clean-out, and I voted against it.

The Taoiseach is running off admiring, and is beholden to, the globalists in Europe even though the French and Germans are going to destroy our agriculture and other aspects as well. We have a very troubled European project now as far as I am concerned and we are net losers all over the place. When we got the so-called bailout, we got money from the IMF at 2.9% but we paid 6% to our European friends. Can you imagine that? At that stage, the bondholders were insured as well. They laughed all the way to the bank. Not only were the insurers not called in, the Irish taxpayers were the patsies. The Minister of State’s grandchildren, if he has any, and my grandchildren and their children will probably never pay it off. It was an enormous, savage amount of money. It was unbelievable.

What we have seen happening in the past couple of years has been totally distasteful. Retired Members of this House, of Members of European Parliament and of different places are now advocates for the banks. They are only out the door here a wet month or wet week. Surely, in this legislation, we must have a barrier put in so that politicians and public servants, who are in senior positions in the Department of Finance, cannot become advocates, advisers or you name it name for the banks. This is putting the fox in charge of the hen house. The Minister of State has much work to do. However, I do not see any appetite within the Department of Finance and within the Government to deal with the banks.

I refer to the tracker mortgages and the massive fines that were imposed on banks. Whose money did they pay the fines with? Account holders' money was used to pay the fines, so it was the public’s money that was used to pay the fines. The fines were minuscule compared the billions of euro in profits that they made. The Minister of State has no appetite to tackle the banks or CRH Roadstone, plc. He wants the taxpayers to pay the cement levy and for bad products as a result of no regulation.

The Government has no appetite to go after the insurance companies. I am tired of talking to the Minister of State about insurance companies. That wonderful thatched-roof pub in Ballylooby got flooded the other night, making it worse. The has pub closed. The wonderful Keating family had insurance all their life but now they cannot get insurance for it as a domestic building. It was flooded on Sunday night so when it rains, it pours on some people. It is unfortunate. The Government cannot tackle the insurance companies, the banks or anything.

We are bringing in feeble and inept legislation here. It is pathetic. The public is sick and tired of it and we are seen all over the world as having a soft touch. We will table amendments on vulture funds. Michael Noonan welcomed these people to this country. Imagine the word “vulture”. How many people would want a vulture when they see what it would do to a pet lamb when it is being born? There are connotations there and the name is appropriate. They must be accountable to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach and the Committee of Public Accounts.

We have seen recently where Departments have refused to come before several committees, including some of which I am a member. That cannot be allowed. We are tasked to legislate and be accountable to the people and we must make sure that we do that.

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