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

I will write to the Central Bank to try to find out if that is the case. It should not be the case and credit servicing firms should be regulated in exactly the same way as every other institution which is in possession of a loan book.

I have touched on the independence of the regulator, the ECB and the SSM. It is a matter for the PTSB to give the finance committee as much detail as it can. I would like to know the exact quantity and breakdown. I have no truck with people who choose not to pay their mortgage. If they try to get away with not paying it means somebody else is being charged a little bit extra, or a variable rate, and that is not right. We have hundreds of thousands of mortgages and loans. We have people getting up, going to work and doing their very best to make ends meet and pay their mortgage. They are the people to be supported. The people not to be supported are those who try it on and try to avoid paying. I do not know what the figures are but I have seen the press release from Permanent TSB stating that there are thousands of loans whose borrowers have not been in contact for an average of three and a half years. That is a remarkable figure and, while some people have accused the PTSB of not contacting them, I do not know if that is the case.I do not know if there is no contact from either direction. It is for the bank to ensure that it contacts a person. If it has not seen or spoken to a person in three and a half years or if there is not a response, then it is difficult to know what is happening. It is up to Permanent TSB to try to ensure that information is given to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. That is much as I have. I believe this will take between three and six months. It will not be done in a few weeks, whatever the outcome is. I await the opportunity for Members of this House to probe Permanent TSB if it is coming in, although I am not sure if it is. However, it should come in and give information to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. People will then be able to make a more informed decision on whether this is a good or a bad thing.