Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I support Senator Coghlan in his request for an early debate on the report of the financial services ombudsman, Mr. Joe Meade, particularly on issues relating to the sale of endowment mortgages by insurance companies during the 1980s and 1990s. It is a sorry situation that many of the people with such mortgages find themselves seriously under covered. This is reflected in the fact that there are nearly 1,700 complaints relating to insurance companies in the ombudsman's report. Unfortunately, Mr. Meade has found himself unable to deal with them as they are statute barred having been dormant for over six years. This is a disgrace that will cause great hardship to many. Most of the companies involved are British based, which causes further difficulties.