Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to, and it is important for me to use this slot to discuss and outline the experience of a seventh-generation family-run hotel in Clonakilty. I want to outline the disgusting and despicable treatment that this family-run business experienced at the hands of one our pillar banks, AIB, and an unscrupulous vulture fund, Everyday Finance. Unfortunately, the experience that I will outline reflects the experiences that many businesses, farmers and individuals have at the hands of some of the pillar banks and especially at the hands of vulture funds. There is a lack of engagement, communication, flexibility and a complete lack of respect when they are dealing with individuals, businesses and farmers.

In this case, the business in question took out a 30-year loan in 2007. It never once defaulted on its repayments. Everything was going perfectly to plan. Then the financial crisis hit and this loan was later quickly reduced to a 12-year term and restructured to have a new repayment plan with absolutely no negotiation or communication. This family business, being honest and well run, and always doing everything by the book, did what it could to meet the repayments for this restructured loan. It sold assets in order to meet the repayments and went along with the restructuring of the loan. During this entire process, there was no consultation, communication or engagement from the pillar bank, AIB. It restructured the loan. Later, the business found out with no communication or consultation whatsoever that its loan had been sold to a vulture fund, Everyday Finance.

After that, there was a list of demands for repayments but the vulture fund would never explicitly outline how much they needed to repay or what level of finance was required to settle or restructure the loan. That was despite several efforts from the family behind this business to contact Everyday Finance to find out exactly how much was needed in order to settle the loan. No figure was given. Therefore, the family, who were trying to do the right thing, to settle and to get on with running their well-run business were left completely in the dark with regard to what they owed. It has got to the point where receivers have been sent into the business. They march into the premises with lists of demands. They march into this seventh-generation family-run hotel with no communication and with no permission asked. The way this family and business are being treated is disgraceful.

The sad reality is that this honest, hard-working family, who employ 70 people in their hotel, O'Donovan's Hotel in Clonakilty, run it like clockwork and are trying to do their best to settle a loan that was restructured without their permission, had its term shortened without their permission and was sold to a vulture fund without any communication. They are trying to do their best to settle but are getting no answers. The way these banks and vulture funds treat hard-working, honest people is a disgrace. This goes for farmers too. Many are in similar situations. It also goes for individuals who are given a list of demands and whose properties are entered without permission or communication.

This is not the way to do business. Businesses, individuals, and farmers, have been through enough and have done everything they can to keep things ticking over, to make an honest living, and to make repayments. They get absolutely no respect in their treatment by pillar banks and vulture funds. What I am asking for, is that once and for all we put in place a series of measures to protect hard working businesses such as the O'Donovan's Hotel in Clonakilty and all the other businesses from these unscrupulous vulture funds that are only interested in one thing, which is money and profits. I do not know whether it can be done in the Bill, through policy or through other legislation. There is absolutely no sympathy and no consideration given for the stress these families are going through and the mental impact experiences such as this are having on them. I ask that the experience I shared today of the seven-generation family-run hotel in Clonakilty is not allowed to happen in the future. I ask that we do everything possible to keep these incredible businesses that are the lifeblood of town centres right across Ireland going and that we do everything we can to protect and support them.

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