Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss this Bill, which is welcome. I acknowledge his commitment that when the Bill goes through, a commencement order will be signed as quickly as possible. It should brought through the House as quickly as possible. If possible, we should deal with the other sections of the Bill within the time available.

There was a weakness in that the servicing firms were being regulated, rather than the funds themselves. Hopefully, the legislation will address that lacuna.

It is important that an update be provided by the Central Bank of Ireland within the next three months so that when the Bill is enacted, the update will outline the number of applications received within the three-month transitional period for existing funds. Am I correct that is provided for under transitional measures in the Bill? The existing funds must come back within three months of the Bill being enacted to seek authorisation from the Central Bank. I would like for the bank to report that this has taken place and that funds are being compliant.

It is also important in that process, including for newer firms, that when they seek authorisation from the Central Bank, the capacity of the funds to deal with the profile of loans they are taking over is examined. Do they have the capacity to deal with long-term mortgages? There is a perception among the public that funds are buying short-term loans and that they have effectively borrowed themselves to purchase the loans, which they must repay quickly. By definition, that impacts on how they deal with the loans that they have purchased. It is important that if someone has a mortgage and is dealing with a bank with the capacity to deal with long-term loans, he or she would have a fund purchase the deed by way of tranches, which effectively gives it the capacity to work out mortgages over time rather than looking for short-term solutions.

This is a welcome Bill and I hope that we can facilitate the Minister of State in passing it as quickly as possible. I am at the disposal of my colleagues in the House and more particularly, the Cathaoirleach, for that to happen.