Dáil debates
Thursday, 30 May 2019
Vulture Funds: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]
1:05 pm
Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I must now deal with a postponed division relating to the motion regarding vulture funds. On Tuesday, 28 May 2019, on the question, "That the amendment to the motion be agreed to," a division was claimed. In accordance with Standing Order 70(2), that division must be taken now.
Tá
Seán Barrett, Colm Brophy, Richard Bruton, Peter Burke, Seán Canney, Ciarán Cannon, Joe Carey, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, Michael Creed, Michael D'Arcy, Jim Daly, John Deasy, Regina Doherty, Bernard Durkan, Damien English, Alan Farrell, Charles Flanagan, Brendan Griffin, John Halligan, Simon Harris, Martin Heydon, Heather Humphreys, Paul Kehoe, Seán Kyne, Josepha Madigan, Helen McEntee, Kevin Moran, Tom Neville, Michael Noonan, Fergus O'Dowd, Shane Ross.
Níl
John Brady, John Brassil, Declan Breathnach, Tommy Broughan, James Browne, Joan Burton, Mary Butler, Pat Casey, Shane Cassells, Jack Chambers, Joan Collins, Michael Collins, Catherine Connolly, Ruth Coppinger, Barry Cowen, Seán Crowe, John Curran, Pearse Doherty, Stephen Donnelly, Timmy Dooley, Dessie Ellis, Martin Ferris, Peter Fitzpatrick, Seán Fleming, Noel Grealish, Michael Harty, Seán Haughey, Séamus Healy, Brendan Howlin, Martin Kenny, John Lahart, Michael Lowry, Catherine Martin, Mattie McGrath, Michael McGrath, John McGuinness, Denise Mitchell, Aindrias Moynihan, Michael Moynihan, Imelda Munster, Margaret Murphy O'Mahony, Catherine Murphy, Eugene Murphy, Paul Murphy, Carol Nolan, Darragh O'Brien, Jim O'Callaghan, Kevin O'Keeffe, Fiona O'Loughlin, Louise O'Reilly, Frank O'Rourke, Jan O'Sullivan, Maureen O'Sullivan, Eoin Ó Broin, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Willie Penrose, Thomas Pringle, Maurice Quinlivan, Róisín Shortall, Niamh Smyth, Brian Stanley, Peadar Tóibín, Robert Troy.
1:15 pm
Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "last quarter are performing restructures;" and substitute the following:"— FLAC has concluded that there is a 'significant inequality of arms between the lender and borrower' where the borrower 'may have no meaningful influence on the content of the terms of the loan and may be wholly unaware that the lender is reserving the right to sell the loan on to an entity of its choice';
— the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2018 passed all stages last year and under that legislation so called 'vulture funds' are now regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland;
— there is no legal obligation to honour a restructured arrangement once the loan is sold to a new lender; and
— there is no legal obligation to transfer the full and complete file on the borrower to the new lender when the loan is transferred thus making it very difficult for the borrower to challenge the position of the new lender; and
calls on the Government to:— ensure that the Central Bank of Ireland's Report on the Effectiveness of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears in the context of the Sale of Loans by Regulated Lenders, which was furnished to the Minister for Finance in 2018, be given legislative force to ensure that all parts of the code are expressly admissible in repossession hearings;
— legally oblige a lender to transfer the borrower's full and complete file, along with correspondence, to the new lender when a loan is transferred or sold;
— legally stipulate that a restructured arrangement must be adhered to when the loan is transferred or sold to a new lender;
— recognise that so-called 'vulture funds' pose an immediate and overwhelming threat to borrowers in rural and urban Ireland;
— accept that unregulated entities have demonstrated a clear unwillingness to abide by voluntary codes of conduct; and
— revise the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears in order to ensure that all lenders must consider the options outlined in provisions 38 and 39."