Senator Mark Daly: My colleague opposite has raised a curious question which was raised here a number of weeks ago by Senator Jim Walsh and myself concerning the engagement by the banks. The banks are already ahead of the curve in going out to meet these personal insolvency people to get them on side. There seems to have been a lot of meetings between the banks and the Department on how this will work. If the banks are part of the problem, they had better be part of the solution. Can the minutes of the lobbying done by the banks on their own behalf be made available so that we can know what they were looking for and, in the end, what was or was not included in the Bill? Perhaps the Minister could clarify that.
Deputy Alan Shatter: Senator Daly raised the issue of contacts with financial institutions. The Government has had substantial contact with financial institutions dealing with debt to discuss their approach to debt issues, including the enormous difficulties impacting on those in mortgage arrears. In that context, over 80,000 people are currently benefiting from debt forbearance arrangements that the financial institutions have entered into. Despite the enormous fiscal and economic cataclysm that has hit the country, including the collapse in property values since the Celtic tiger and – taking heed of Senator Crown’s comment earlier – the encouragement given by financial institutions and previous Governments to people to purchase properties at exorbitant prices, there has been a surprisingly small number of cases of repossession of homes.
We are anxious to ensure that the architecture provided in this legislation is properly worked by the financial institutions. As I mentioned on Second Stage, there is express provision in the personal insolvency arrangement to try to protect people living in reasonable family homes to ensure that if they are insolvent, arrangements can be agreed and mechanisms entered into that create the possibility for them to retain their homes. All these issues have been the subject of conversation with the financial institutions to ensure that they properly prepare themselves for the workings of this legislation. It is very important that they either retrain existing staff or acquire staff who have the skills to engage in the sort of processes that the legislation envisages in the context of the debt settlement resolution provisions. That is essentially what has been going on. I want to thank Senators for supporting this proposal, which is a prelude to the new Part 5 to be inserted in the Bill.
Senator Mark Daly: I thank the Minister for his reply and I understand what he is saying about the engagement with the banks. My specific question was about the engagement with the banks on this particular Bill and what they asked to have put in, so that we could discern what elements were, or were not, put in at the banks’ request. That information is not available to the public so perhaps the Minister will tell the House if it is to be made public. We do not want to feel the banks wrote the legislation. My colleague, Senator Conway, pointed out that the banks are already engaging about section 9. They knew it is going to be included, they were ahead of the curve and they are already canvassing these guys.
Deputy Alan Shatter: Does the Senator have any idea what he is talking about as regards section 9 and the banks? He has not a notion of what he is talking about.
Senator Mark Daly: The Minister is making an accusation but I am trying to convey that Senator Conway pointed out that he discussed this with the banks. We have raised the issue of the banks in the Seanad.
Deputy Alan Shatter: This section is about the regulation of the personal insolvency agency.
Senator Mark Daly: Is the Minister saying the information will not be made available outlining what the banks tried to have included in the Bill and what they did not want included in the Bill?
Senator Mark Daly: Will the Minister not answer?
Deputy Alan Shatter: I have answered the question in morbid detail.
Senator Mark Daly: I would like the answer in writing. I would rather await the morbid detail and get it in writing.
Deputy Alan Shatter: This is Government legislation, not the banks’ legislation.
Senator Mark Daly: What did the banks ask to have included in the Bill…Will the Minister provide that information?