Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Senator Darragh O'Brien said, this is a necessary evil, as I would describe it. The Minister for Finance has huge powers and is extending the period of these powers by a further two years. The question that must be asked is what has he done with these powers.

It is often passed over in the narrative that, under the Act, junior bondholders with investments worth ¤10 billion were burned. People choose to ignore that this happened. This effectively gives the Minister acarte blancheto do with the banks as he sees fit.

I am concerned about the ¤7 billion in recapitalisation funds for the banks, primarily for the mortgage loan book. The period the funding was to cover was not specified. I presume it will apply to the entire life of the mortgage loan book. However, as we can see from the statistics of the Central Bank and other bodies, there has been practically no writing down to date. I appreciate that the banks may be waiting to see how the personal insolvency legislation will work. There is concern because, although ¤7 billion was invested, there was no definition in regard to buy-to-let properties, on the one hand, and the family home, on the other.

I note there is no sympathy for those who took a punt on buy-to-let properties. There will be repossessions by the banks. Perhaps there will be more sympathy over the course of next year. I contend the personal insolvency provisions apply primarily to the family home, and I made this point when considering the personal insolvency legislation.

With the new powers, will the Minister be required to sanction further recapitalisation if the mortgage loan book goes in one direction, as is our concern? While there is evidence that the rate is decreasing, we do not know for certain whether this trend will continue. Will the burden of picking up the slack fall back on the shoulders of the taxpayer again? The taxpayer would certainly not be pleased with this.

Consider the position if funds are needed to recapitalise the Bank of Ireland mortgage loan book, bearing in mind that the State owns 15% of the bank and that Mr. Wilbur Ross came with private equity to take it over.

We saw the belligerent attitude of the bank towards its mortgage holders. It was not very pleasant. We also saw its belligerent attitude towards the State when it was mooted that the Parliament building on College Green be taken over in the national interest close to the centenary celebrations of 2016. As always, the banks operate in the interest of themselves, not their clients. The Government should and may act only in the interest of its citizens.