Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, to delete No. 2, because so far the Leader and the Government have refused permission to allow the Seanad to discuss the revised code of conduct on mortgage arrears. In the absence of that discussion and in the absence of taking that document seriously, the repossession Bill which the Government is putting forward is an outrage. It is about time some people in Fine Gael and the Labour Party started to examine their consciences on that Bill, because it will directly allow approximately 71,000 family homes to be repossessed. We estimate the number of arrears cases to be 142,118, about half of which will be open to repossession under the code of conduct on mortgage arrears and under the Bill, which will revise the Dunne judgment.

It is interesting to note that the Dunne judgment is still before the Supreme Court and instead of legislating for that case the Government is legislating against it. We need a full debate on the code of conduct long before we come to the repossessions Bill. It is two years since the Family Home Bill, proposed by Senator Marc MacSharry and I, was introduced. At the time the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Brian Hayes, promised that action would be taken within months but instead what we have been told is that time and again the banks have been asked what they want and have been told they will be accommodated.

That is the Government's attitude to the repossession of family homes. It is a wrong attitude, however, and will have serious consequences for families in Ireland once the House passes the measure, as presumably it will. The Government parties have not examined their conscience on the issue, so it will become law and the repossessions will start. The banks will then have what they want. That is my proposal on the Order of Business.

There is a second issue on which we need to have a debate here. Time and again, the Taoiseach has alleged in the Dáil that the file on the bank guarantee in the Department of the Taoiseach has been, and I quote him, "shredded", "disposed of" or "dispatched with". It would be important for this House to examine the Taoiseach's words and other similar allegations he has made, particularly concerning the file that does exist in his Department, and the list of documents that Fianna Fáil received from that file.

The Taoiseach says one thing, while on the other hand a freedom of information request proves that there is quite a large file in his Department. That discrepancy requires a full debate here. We need to know what the position is with the file, why the Taoiseach makes these allegations or seems to be unaware of what the position is in his Department, when the freedom of information section is able to find a complete file there on the matter. The public deserves a full debate and the House should have such a debate.