Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will not oppose that aspect of the Order of Business, but some colleagues may have an amendment to propose. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, are elsewhere in Europe today to consider the issue of youth unemployment and the moneys that will be made available Europe-wide for that purpose. That is welcome and hope it will lead to tangible action on the ground in job creation here, as opposed to some wooly policy that will not deliver on the ground. It is extremely worrying to see Europe-wide the level of youth unemployment as high as it is.

Sadly, yesterday we had further bad news with Ulster Bank announcing it would close a further 40 branches. The Irish Bank Officials Association, IBOA, has stated up to 1,850 jobs are at risk, although the bank has denied this.

The IBOA said up to 1,850 jobs were at risk although that has been denied by the bank. In any event, it is a significant blow. Further redundancies to take place in Hewlett-Packard meant that yesterday was quite a dark day.

The Leader of the Opposition referred to the mortgage arrears crisis in the House yesterday. The Leader of the Seanad mentioned that the Central Bank legislation presented an ideal opportunity to raise such issues but I take issue with that. This is a silent crisis and requires a debate. It requires a rolling debate because what I predicted in 2009 when on the other side of the House and what was predicted at the time by Fine Gael Members, including Senator Healy Eames, is now bringing itself to bear. The Dunne judgment, which found a loophole in the conveyancing and land Acts that prevented repossessions, will now be undone by the Government. The chief risk officer for Ulster Bank implied that the bank intends to plough ahead with repossessions as a matter of urgency, and he estimated that up to 35% of defaulters are strategic defaulters. I do not believe the Leader believes that those families throughout the country who are struggling at present are strategic defaulters. I regret very much that the code of conduct will strengthen the hand of the banks and weaken that of struggling families. The code of conduct prevents the potential for success of aspects of the insolvency legislation introduced by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter. We must have a meaningful debate on this issue and introduce tangible measures that will give real relief to people. We must not leave the fox in charge of the henhouse. The banks cannot be trusted and this has been proven time and again. We have heard tapes in recent weeks and now the banks cannot be trusted to put the people first. They always put themselves first and it is our responsibility to face up to that and do something about it.