Over the past two years, the Taoiseach has failed to do anything effective to help people in mortgage arrears. More than 180,000 mortgages are in arrears and the people involved are finding it extremely difficult to cope. Their experiences with the banks have been anything but pleasant. The Keane report, which was published over 18 months ago, made many recommendations, including the idea of split mortgages. We have learned that only about 50 such mortgages have been put into operation since the publication of that report. This is a damning indictment of the Taoiseach's lack of action on this front.

The Taoiseach still insists that the banks must have a veto over any resolution of mortgage arrears or household debt. He was going to enact legislation to facilitate banks in repossessing family homes. To add insult to injury, he insists that families in mortgage arrears pay a badly designed property tax. It escapes me how people who cannot pay their mortgages could pay a property tax. People find this incredible.

Senator Thomas Byrne and Deputy Michael McGrath published legislation in a constructive way in July 2011 which proposed the establishment of an independent debt settlement office. The Taoiseach did not take account of those recommendations. That legislation would have provided independent oversight of the resolution of household debt between banks and their customers. The Personal Insolvency Act is not yet operational. For over a month, I have been asking the Taoiseach to list the sections that have been enacted. At least 119 sections of the Act that is meant to deal with this issue remain unenacted or have not been commenced by the Government. The Cabinet sub-committee on this has only met twice since its establishment last July. All of this illustrates a lack of engagement and activity.

In respect of the plan the Taoiseach is announcing today, this is not about targets. It is about the quality of the restructuring that will take place between the banks and customers in respect of their mortgages. It must make a difference on the ground.

A question, please.

Setting targets will not help. I gave examples yesterday of cases in Ashbourne and elsewhere in which people have had obstacle after obstacle put in front of them in respect of getting a deal with the bank.

Deputy Martin is over time. Could he put his question?

The banks were not dealing with them. Will there will be independent oversight of the deals the banks strike with individuals? Will this oversight have teeth and ensure that the restructuring that may take place will be effective and will have real meaning for people who find themselves in arrears?

I listened to LMFM this morning and heard the spokesperson on finance making the comment that the reason the Minister for Finance was introducing initiatives today to deal with mortgage arrears was the by-election in County Meath. Has the Ceann Comhairle ever heard anything as strange as that? I noticed that the leader of Fianna Fáil drew that by-election into his comments here. The first thing I will remind him of is that the previous Government refused to hold by-elections because it was always afraid of the people. It had to change the law to ensure that by-elections would take place within six months.

Fine Gael would not even tell its colleagues in the Labour Party about it.

People should not be getting excited. I ask Deputy Kelleher to calm down.

This strategy has nothing to do with the by-election. Deputy Martin has pursued a misery agenda for long enough. I am not sure whether he is afraid he would actually sort this out, because when one looks back at what the previous Government did not do, one can see appalling behaviour and lack of competence on its part. Deputy Martin ignores the fact that the Government of which he was a central member was directly responsible for the infliction of economic burdens on every person in the country because of the way it allowed the banking system to run riot. People could not go to an ATM without getting notices that they had been approved for another €10,000, €15,000 or €50,000. This Government had to restructure and recapitalise the banks, change the boards and make a series of arrangements, including the introduction of the Personal Insolvency Act, which is not yet operational because the personal insolvency service will open its doors in early summer. There will be an announcement about that from the director, who has already been appointed and will be recruiting his staff towards the end of March.

The Minister for Finance will set out all the details of the mortgage targets and timeframes today and there will be similar announcements by the Central Bank. As Deputy Martin knows, the Central Bank controls the licences and can apply any conditions it sees fit to banks that do not adhere to conditions or rearrangements for persons in distress. I told Deputy Martin yesterday that we want to see an opportunity for those 100,000 people who exist for the banks and for their families to have some sense of security for the future. The Government aimed to bring about a variety of opportunities, which now exist, for restructuring and establishing different arrangements for those clients. The details of that will be presented by the Minister for Finance today. It is not true for Deputy Martin to say that the Government has shown inaction on this. For the past two years, this has been one of the central issues for it. That is why we had the Keane report and why some of its recommendations have been followed through, although others have not been followed through to the extent that we would like. The Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning has been very active in respect of mortgage-to-rent and split mortgage arrangements.

Far from Deputy Micheál Martin's argument that there has been no activity on the part of the Government, the scale of the mess his party left behind was absolutely unprecedented in the history of the country.

The Taoiseach sought a mandate.

The scale of that mess means they are walking into constituency offices all over the country and every single person knows-----

If the by-election is put off, they might get something done.

-----that the reason all of this was inflicted upon the country was the incompetence of the Fianna Fáil Government in dealing with the banks, as Deputy Micheál Martin well knows.

Deputy Micheál Martin to continue, without interruption.

Arise and follow Charlie.

I asked the Taoiseach a very straight and simple question. He refused to answer it yesterday and has refused to answer it today.

He has no answer.

Will there be independent oversight of the banks in their dealings with people in mortgage arrears?

Is the answer "Yes" or "No"?

The Keane report was published 18 months ago and its recommendations have not been followed through. A total of approximately 50 split mortgages out of 182,000 mortgages in arrears does not represent action by the Taoiseach or anyone else. The Governor of the Central Bank said he was tearing his hair out. The Deputy Governor, Ms Fiona Muldoon, said last November that the banks were not doing what they should be doing in engaging with people. All of the political bluster from and the arrogance of the Taoiseach will not change these basic facts.

No interruptions, please. The Taoiseach is quite capable of answering the questions asked.

The Taoiseach talks about elections and by-elections. He should talk to those who are in mortgage arrears-----

Will the Deputy, please, put his supplementary question to the Taoiseach?

-----who are working, who have salaries and who want to pay their mortgages. They have asked the banks to do a deal with them, but all they get in response is obstacles put in their way by the banks. There has been no action on this front. The banks were recapitalised to the tune of €9 billion to deal with the issue of mortgage impairment and mortgage difficulties, but there has been no engagement between the banks and their customers. I will ask the Taoiseach the same question again. Will there be independent oversight of the banks in their dealings with customers? To date, they have demonstrated, as evidenced by the remarks of the Governor and the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, that on their own and left to their own devices, they will not deal effectively with those in arrears. That is why the Government needs to intervene in an affirmative way to ensure there is independent oversight of the behaviour of the banks in their dealings with customers.

The Deputy failed to talk to people in mortgage distress when he had the opportunity to do so. The answer to his question is "Yes". The Central Bank will provide for independent oversight of arrangements made between banks and their clients.

They put their hands in the air and stated they could not deal with it.

I call Deputy Gerry Adams.

The Central Bank has had oversight for the past two years.

I have called Deputy Gerry Adams who has a right to have his say.