Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The point I am making is that the Irish people stepped up to the mark in a major way and it saved the euro at that time. I believe they are entitled to something in return. We are not in normal trading conditions and equally the banks, in their relentless pursuit of profitability - as a State we are shareholders in them - should have to take cognisance of the people who saved them. They are not doing so. I ask the Minister of State to take it from someone who knows, who is dealing as an intermediary for many people in mortgage distress, that the banks, despite what her officials say and despite what the Bankers Federation produce in terms of statistical analysis, are only engaged at a superficial level. I challenge anyone in the Chamber to give me one example of one person they know who has had 15 years added to their mortgage. The answer is none, because it has happened to nobody. Ask anybody who has been given a new mortgage rate or a doubling of their mortgage and the answer is none. Some 144 lucky people have had their mortgages split but the reality is that the level of superficial engagement with people does not reflect the needs of the people on the ground.

I agree with Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh who said there is little to differentiate between a banking policy of the previous Government and this Government in the context of mortgage arrears, because there is none. The same advice that was given to the late Brian Lenihan, in terms of how to deal with the mortgage arrears crisis, is being given to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan. That is as clear as day. There are two axis of collusion, one is that Department officials and their counterparts in Europe only tell the Minister what it suits them to tell him. That is a fact, and the few Ministers I have known over the years will bear that out. The second axis of collusion is clearly the hold that the Central Bank and the banks have over the key officials in the Department of Finance. Those two axis of collusion need to be broken down, otherwise the people will always come last. I believe it is time the people began to come first.