Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He is a regular here. It is always good to see him.

I welcome many of the provisions in the Finance Bill. They have been outlined very eloquently by many in the House, including our own spokesperson. I am disappointed, however, that an exemption from the local property tax is not being extended to people in Mayo with pyrite in their homes and people in Donegal with mica in their homes. With regard to pyrite, the exemption already exists for homes in Leinster. It has been officially established that there is a problem with pyrite in Mayo and I do not understand why what has been done for people in Leinster cannot be done for people in Mayo. I appreciate that the Minister of State was in the House last week dealing with a Commencement matter I raised but it is not good enough to tell people to revalue their property. One has to treat people equally. The problem is more serious in blockwork than in foundations, which is where the pyrite is found in Leinster.

We must always consider those for whom Christmas will be bleak. I want to highlight, in particular, the cohort dealing with vulture funds or hedge funds. I want to single out one vulture fund in particular, namely, Promontoria. It has come to my attention on a number of occasions. Businesspeople, professionals and farmers are trying to deal with it. "Trying" is the operative word.

Over Christmas, as with August, the courts go on holidays for a few weeks. This seems to result in an escalation in the number of proceedings that Promontoria issues. In the run up to court holidays, people may find it difficult to get lawyers. People are slapped with proceedings. I refer to cases where, to my mind, people are making a very real effort because they do not want to be declared bankrupt and want to sort out their affairs. I encountered a case that really highlighted to me what is occurring. It is the case of a professional man who, as with a number of others, got into debt. He has been able to reach a financial arrangement with several banks but he cannot deal with Promontoria. He made an offer to it and it did not even make a counter-offer. In my experience of proceedings, trying to sort out cases, mediation and negotiations, I have never heard the like. Now the individual has been slapped with a High Court summons requiring the full amount owed. If he is declared bankrupt, none of the other creditors will get paid at all.

One of the vulture fund's tactics is to require people to go to Belfast to visit an office. The man working there is a former Scotland Yard agent. I do not want to be crude in this Chamber but must state that he introduces himself to people when he sits them down by saying, "I am a prick but do not mind that". It proceeds from there. That says it all. I am raising this because an increasing number of people have been complaining about their dealings with Promontoria.

A number of issues arise in this regard. The vulture funds are unregulated. What engagement is there between the Department and these vulture funds? They are supposed to have a special relationship manager for debtors to deal with, yet the debtors do not get to know the identity of that relationship manager, unless they get to go to the North and meet the unsavoury individual I have mentioned. For the most part, the vulture fund I referred to operates through its agent, Capita. It is most unsatisfactory. The fund does not seem to want to hammer out deals. It seems to want to put people to the pin of their collar. What are we doing for these people, who are making a genuine effort? How are the vulture funds controlled? How are they taken to task?What meetings are taking place between the Department or officials in the Department and Promontoria? The irony of it is that this particular professional had told me that he had just paid €80,000 in preliminary tax while Promontoria, as I understand it, pays next to nothing in tax. Is this person supposed to go to the wall when he is trying to sort out his affairs? This is repeated throughout. People cannot seem to get a handle on these vulture funds. They need to be taken to task, and I would appreciate any information the Minister of State has on that.

I would also like to see some advancement on the pyrite issue, including a redress scheme, so that people can be informed of the work that is going on. I know that the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is working on it. I would like people to know that there is work going on in the Department of Finance to try and help people who have pyrite and mica in their homes.