Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----and to follow the words on reform which Senator Barrett spoke. We all want the banking sector to be reformed. The amendment is sensible and I hope the Minister of State will accept it. I have participated in the debate on the Bill from Second Stage on. A great many good suggestions have been put forward by Members on all sides. In the context of banking reform and Central Bank supervision and enforcement, I wonder how the Central Bank operates currently in dealing with the newly published code of conduct for mortgage arrears, which, in effect, gives the banks everything they want. While the Government is apparently reforming, as is badly needed, the banking sector, we have opened the floodgates for the banks. They have the nod of Government and the Central Bank. We have set aside the previous statutory code of conduct which provided for a 12-month moratorium before a bank could move on mortgage arrears.