Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this matter. I raised it previously in respect of lending institutions that hire unsavoury agents with shady backgrounds to collect debts. It is not tolerable that people can break into someone's property, pose as debt collectors and effectively use criminality and scare tactics. Whether collecting debt that way is theft is debatable.

Perhaps the Minister will consider inserting a section on Report Stage whereby an agent hired by a financial institution will be licensed by the Central Bank or some other authority. A financial institution may wash its hands Pontius Pilate-like by claiming that it has hired a reputable agent, but that agent hires sub-agents and on goes the chain of disassociation. Under the proposed licensing section, responsibility for the actions of agents or sub-agents should fall on whoever has hired the debt collection service in the first place. I would appreciate it if the Minister could consider this proposal.