Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have referred to the Personal Insolvency Bill on a regular basis since the recess. It will be one of the most important Bills to come before the House. More than one in five mortgages are in distress. I am disturbed that the Government is not providing information on how the Bill was designed. Following the publication of the draft heads in January, Simon Carswell of The Irish Times submitted a freedom of information request seeking information on the legislation. When it was refused, he subsequently submitted a new request. Of 63 records in a schedule, the Department refused to release 52 and only two records were released in full and without redaction. According to Mr. Carswell's report, the records that were not released included ten relating to contacts with the Department by the Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Banks, Ulster Bank, KBC Bank, Start Mortgages and GE Money, while a further five related to contacts made by the banks' representative body, the Irish Banking Federation. The lobbying campaign by the banks has been intense since the publication of the Bill. We know they sought to have the cap on mortgage debt that may be eligible for write-downs under the Bill lowered. More than a dozen records of meetings were also refused, including those with the Department and correspondence between the Departments of Finance and Justice and Equality and the Central Bank.

There is no doubt that members of the public would benefit from transparency on the Personal Insolvency Bill. If implemented properly and without unreasonable banking interference or the exercise of a veto by the banks, the legislation could mark a significant step forward in resolving the current crisis. Some of the Senators opposite who danced up and down when amendments were made to the Freedom of Information Act by a previous Government have embraced one of the most secretive Governments I have seen in my time. Having listened to the contributions of Senators Michael D'Arcy and John Kelly, I ask that more Senators speak their minds about what is wrong with the current Administration in order that the problems can be corrected.