Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, to the Chamber. I endorse the comments of my colleague, Senator Conway-Walsh, and welcome the Bill. I thank and acknowledge the brilliant Deputy Pearse Doherty for drafting this Bill and ensuring its progress to this stage.

Like many in the House, I have been contacted by a large number of people who wanted to share their stories and say how important it was that the legislation should not only pass into law, but do so as quickly as possible. I will share the story of Mary, a constituent of mine who updated me on the current payment protection insurance, PPI, situation. She only recently noticed that she was paying a large annual sum for her PPI policy, which ran from 2004 to 2017. It increased from €870 to €1,344 years later, a significant sum of approximately €17,000 in total during a time of austerity, cuts and attacks on working people and the poor. This €17,000 was badly needed in that household.

Mary and her husband believe that they were missold the policy. Her husband is self-employed. Believing that it was compulsory insurance, they signed for it at the same time that they took out their mortgage. The Financial Services Ombudsman has been in touch with them since 2004 regarding the misselling of the PPI by the banks, but it looks like the office will not be able to act because of the six-year Statute of Limitations. Mary was aware that I would be addressing this Bill in the Seanad on 14 June, which was actually a while ago, and wanted me to consider passing it urgently so that the situation could be resolved for her and the many more people in the same situation.

We have had it up to our teeth with what the banks have done to this country and ordinary people. We have bailed them out and are still bailing them out. Our children's children will be bailing them out. Let us have equal rights for the citizens who own this country, not for the banks or speculators. I hope that the Minister of State will do right by the people affected by this issue. It is a small amount in some instances, but €17,000 is a large figure. It is like savings for people who do not have the means to fight the banks. The banks need to give back the moneys owed to those people from whom it was wrongfully taken in the first place.

This issue has been under discussion for some time, so the Minister of State is probably aware that the deadline in the UK has been pushed to 2019 because there are many cases that are still to be addressed because they fell outside the limitation ruling. Please, pass this Bill urgently. Mary is not alone. The moneys owed would make a major difference to people who are struggling to pay mortgages, struggling with negative equity and struggling to rear young families. We owe it to people like Mary to ensure that this Bill, which offers a way out of hardship to many, is passed. I urge all Senators to support it and I commend my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty. Well done. Let us have a resolution to the greed of the banks and their mistakes.