Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is part of the Central Bank's examination, which covers all aspects of the matter. I think that will be decided by the courts. It is most likely to expand to the superior courts from the original O'Dwyer case. However, I do not know for certain. Natural justice is always an issue. If someone was happy to accept a variable rate at that stage, was told about a tracker and chose - with an informed mind - not to get one, should he or she be entitled to the compensation? I do not know. I think all those in this Chamber would have different opinions on that.

Iceland was used as an example. The population of Iceland is 300,000; the population of Wicklow and Wexford is equivalent. The population of Ireland is 4.7 million. Our population is multiple times the size of Iceland's, so comparing Iceland and Ireland in this regard is not really comparing like with like.

Class actions are an option for the Government. We have not reached any conclusions in that regard. As of the end of September, there were 13,000 cases. Representatives from five banks met the Minister for Finance and committed offers being made in respect of 12,000 cases. It is very important that those offers be made. If people choose not to accept offers, that is up to them. However, offers will be made and the Central Bank will have oversight of the process. We do not want a one-size-fits-all approach because we feel that some individuals might fall through the cracks. Some people may be much more impacted upon or injured than others. We do not want to see those round pegs being squeezed into square holes. We want the process to be fair and legitimate. First will come redress, which will involve customers betting their money back, and second will be compensation. We want this to be fair and reasonable and ensure that the injured people are fairly treated.

Regarding class actions and a dysfunctional market, I previously served as a Member of the Dáil between 2007 and 2011. In that period, we all said that there was not enough competition. We brought in competition and that really made a mess of things. Let us be honest about it. Older, established institutions such as Bank of Ireland, which previously had not lent money for mortgages easily, suddenly went into a space that they had never occupied before because they were chasing their competitors. National Irish Bank and Bank of Scotland, Ireland, came in and offered tracker mortgages at rates that were not sustainable. They have since exited the market. However, the other banks remain. The issue we have now is whether we have a dysfunctional market. We do not have a dysfunctional market; we have an expensive market because we do not have enough competition. The problem is that when competition comes in, goes after market share and undercuts existing financial institutions, there is a price war. Price wars never work out well. Someone gets the benefit of entering early, someone gets the market share up but, eventually, there must be a sustainable product, whether a mortgage or any version of any product on the shelf of any institution.

Is there a cartel when it comes to competition? That is a matter for the European Commissioner for Competition. She is pretty good at slapping us with fines, so perhaps she could look into that.

Matters relating to the ODCE, the Garda and the Central Bank are for those institutions; they do not concern the Department of Finance. The Central Bank is investigating and engaging in a deep dive into the financial institutions' activities. If any information that requires to be passed on to the ODCE or An Garda Síochána is identified, that will be a matter for the Central Bank. I support the Central Bank 100%. If wrongdoing is identified, we must ensure that the institutions of this State pursue it. God knows, if someone robbed a supermarket or a bank, he or she would be pursued, and rightly so. The same standard applies to any other wrongdoing, whether it involves white-collar crime or crime of any other type.

If I did not reply in respect of particular issues, I apologise.