Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I must now deal with a postponed division relating to the motion on tracker mortgages. On Tuesday, 24 January 2017, on the question that the amendment to the motion be agreed to, a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 70(2), that division must be taken now.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Is Deputy Michael McGrath pressing amendment No. 1?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:“notes that:

— the wrongful denial of mortgage holders of their right to revert to a tracker rate following a period on a fixed interest rate, or the failure to restore mortgage holders to the correct tracker mortgage rate they were entitled to, has affected thousands of families;

— the damage caused by the action of the banks involved goes far beyond a purely financial effect and that the effects it has had on the health and social wellbeing of families, along with the accompanying social exclusion, must also be considered;

— the confirmed cases number at least 11,700 and that many more may still possibly emerge with the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland stating that up to 15,000 is a reasonable estimate;

— the exceptional economic circumstances prevailing at the time this wrong doing was ongoing may well have resulted in a more pronounced effect and impact on families affected throughout Ireland;

— the occurrence of this practice across the banking system was widespread and systemic and resulted in thousands of families being denied their contractual rights;

— the banks have admitted that dozens of families have lost their home as a result with AIB admitting to 14 cases, Ulster Bank to 15 cases, Permanent TSB to 22 and other banks not yet disclosing the number;

— it seems certain that there are also homes which were surrendered and were a voluntary or agreed sale, the numbers of which are not yet captured but should also be considered a loss of home;

— in October 2015, the Central Bank of Ireland launched an industry wide examination into this practice, and this remains ongoing; and

— the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, is currently examining this issue and has agreed to invite the Central Bank of Ireland to attend before the Committee on a quarterly basis, and it remains open to the Committee to issue a report and make recommendations on any aspect of this scandal;

commends the families and advisors that have campaigned to bring this scandal to light and pledges its support to all those affected;

condemns the widespread and scandalous abuse of mortgage holders’ rights carried out by multiple banks in which tracker mortgages and the applicable rates were denied to those who were entitled to them;

supports a comprehensive redress scheme that truly works for the customers affected, with a full right to access to tracker mortgages at the rate agreed as per the contract or at the rate applicable at the time the contract was entered into and compensation, taking into account the financial and social impact of the bank’s behaviour;

calls on the Central Bank of Ireland to impose a deadline for the banks to conclude their investigations, to put in place a redress and compensation scheme, and to have as the overarching priority, looking after the customers who have been directly affected;

calls for the Central Bank of Ireland investigation to uncover the grounds under which each lender decided or chose to carry out this level of wrong doing;

calls for an independent review of existing law to ascertain if sufficient powers exist to hold individuals responsible for their actions in financial matters;

calls on the Government to bring forward any such legislation that is identified as being necessary as a result of this examination, to ensure that individuals in financial institutions can be held accountable for any white collar crime that may occur; and

calls on the Central Bank of Ireland to use all of the available statutory powers to establish the truth of what happened in this case, including a detailed account of how it happened, who was responsible and to be led by the evidence in bringing any matters to other statutory bodies as appropriate.”