Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Today I want to talk about the new Bill that will be introduced by my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, in the Dáil tomorrow. It is the no consent, no sale Bill and its central message is quite simple but fundamental. A loan secured by a mortgage of a residential property may not be transferred without the written consent of the borrower. This is already in the voluntary code of conduct that the banks are supposed to adhere to and several years ago Deputy Noonan said that should be best practice among all of the banks yet the flouting of this principle has left some families in limbo and many more worried about the future. The Bill aims to place control back into the hands of customers.

A mortgage is the most important product that most people will purchase in their lives and it is a commitment over many years that requires people to be able to plan and budget for unforeseen circumstances. Many of these mortgages that are being sold off are performing mortgages. They might be interest rate only mortgages or mortgages where deals have been struck with the banks; to all intents and purposes all of these consumers rightfully think that they have performing mortgages because they are in constant contact with the banks. They are not the small cohort of people who refuse to pay their mortgages, they are those who are doing their best. There may be those who, because of the recklessness of the same banking institutions, lost their jobs in the recession and now on top of the banks being instrumental in them losing their jobs and the downturn in the economy, the same banks are coming back and selling off what is most treasured to them to vulture funds, namely their home and their mortgage.That cannot be allowed happen. This Bill will ensure this cannot happen without the consent of the borrower. These banks paid no corporation tax for many years, they charge interest rates which are well in excess of the European Central Bank rates and the vulture funds they sell to have charitable status so they pay minimal tax. I encourage all parties and all Members of this House to show whose side they are on and show up at the audiovisual room this afternoon at 2 p.m. when my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, and David Hall and Carly Bailey will give full details of the Bill. I ask that the Minister for Finance come to the House to have a full discussion on vulture funds and the behaviour of the banks.