Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government is thanking him for doing a great job and while indicating it would be give him a first class grade if he was being adjudicated on his economics class, it is also telling him it has no interest in changing the law to do something for people.

The Minister stated that two senior civil servants, the Secretary General of the Department, Mr. John Moran, and Ms Muldoon of the Central Bank, were carrying out Government policy when they spoke of the need for debt forgiveness. Nothing is being done on this issue. As the evidence from every constituency office in the country shows and as everyone involved in business knows, the banks are only superficially engaging with people. I ask the Minister of State to cite one instance of individuals aged in their mid-40s who have paid off 15 years of a 35 year mortgage being offered the option to extend their mortgage term to 35 years. The reason no one can cite a single example of such a scenario is that there are no such cases. Can anyone cite an example of people being offered a mortgage-to-let facility? I cannot find a single example of this in the north west. I have requested that such an option be provided in two specific cases and both my requests have been declined.

I do not doubt that everyone wants the position to improve. However, until responsibility for this matter is removed from the banks, they will continue to act in a superficial manner and put the interests of people last, which I am sure is not the Government's intention.