I would like to change topic to another important and pressing issue. In just a matter of weeks, the special liquidator of IBRC is planning to sell more than 13,000 mortgages on the open market. I have met some of the families involved, people like Ms Denise McCormack and Mr. Mike Hurrell, who were featured on "Prime Time" last night. The families have two concerns. First, they will not be allowed to bid for their own mortgages. The special liquidator plans on selling their mortgages in batches of several thousand at a discount. Under the current plan, that discount will be turned into profit for large international financial firms rather than being used to benefit thousands of Irish families as it could. Second, when their mortgages are sold, the families will be stripped of important protections from the Central Bank, the code of conduct on mortgage arrears, CCMA, and the financial ombudsman.

As the Taoiseach knows, this has already happened to many Irish families. Apollo Global Management from the US and the Pepper Group from Australia have bought thousands of Irish mortgages. Both firms are voluntarily conforming to the Central Bank guidelines and are to be congratulated for doing so. Unlike domestic banks, though, they were not required to do so.

The families that own the Irish Nationwide mortgages are right to be afraid. Depending on who buys their loans, they could find their interest rates jacked up or themselves in court for repossession hearings. If that happens, they will have no protection from the Central Bank or the ombudsman under the current law.

Under the IBRC legislation that was passed last year, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, has the power to direct the special liquidator to allow these families to bid for their own loans at the market price. However, when I asked the Minister in October whether he would exercise that power, he refused. He cited the advice that it would be more efficient, among other factors, to sell the loans in batches. I hope the Taoiseach agrees with me that a little administrative complexity is a small price to pay for helping thousands of Irish families in this situation.

I have two questions. Does the Taoiseach agree that the Irish Nationwide mortgage holders should be allowed to bid for their own mortgages at whatever discount is being offered to international financial firms? Will he commit to the House to introduce legislation urgently that will guarantee that all mortgage holders have the same level of protection from the Central Bank, the CCMA and the ombudsman?

The Minister, Deputy Noonan, dealt with this in questions just some short time ago. The special liquidator has full responsibility for determining how the assets of IBRC are sold. In arriving at these decisions, it has considered the cases made from both borrowers and professional independent advice on each of the portfolios in the mortgage area. The decision to offer the residential mortgage book for sale in a portfolio was also arrived at, having regard to the scale of the process and the size of the IBRC loan book.

Furthermore, the decision to sell the loans as part of a portfolio is a more efficient method of disposal and the one that is most likely to give best results in terms of the ultimate sales by the special liquidator, having regard to the public interest. Interference by the State in these matters could lead to challenge from other creditors in the bank.

As the Minister set out, the continued applicability of the Central Bank code of conduct on mortgage arrears, CCMA, in respect of the IBRC residential mortgage portfolio depends on the regulatory status of whoever acquires the portfolio at the end of the process. I am advised that, for instance, should the portfolio be sold to NAMA, it will be mindful of the general market norms that apply when determining its strategy for managing the portfolio.

The Minister, Deputy Noonan, has instructed the Department of Finance to examine the issue in consultation with the Central Bank with a view to bringing forward a solution to the problem.

This is a complex legal issue and will require some careful consideration. We will not know the regulatory status of the ultimate acquirer of the portfolio until the sales process has been concluded. The outcome of the sales process will therefore determine what, if anything, needs to be done at that point. For example, in the event that NAMA acquires the loan book, NAMA is likely to apply best practice in this regard.

There were 17,411 residential loans in IBRC at the end of May outstanding to more than 13,000 customers, so it is understandable that many mortgage owners might be interested in buying their loans. The cost and the practicalities involved would make it both difficult and costly to go down that particular road. Taxpayers have already incurred far too high a price from this bank, and no further cost should be imposed upon them. It is important to note that the special liquidators have confirmed that all borrowers are permitted to repay their mortgage at par value and there are no legislative barriers for such borrowers to do so. The decision, as outlined by the Minister, to package such loans for sale by way of portfolios, is not limited only to the residential mortgage book. Similar decisions were taken in the commercial UK books to maximise sales realisations for the special liquidators.

As the process is under way, clearly we will not know who ultimately acquires the loan book until the process is finished. As the Minister has notified the Central Bank about this, it might be appropriate to see what solution, if any, is necessary following the conclusion of the process.

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply, but if I were one of these families I would be despairing at that answer. We do know what is going to happen. We know that none of the domestic banks will buy the loans. If NAMA buys them, if Apollo buys them or if some vulture fund in New York buys them, none of the potential buyers is covered by the Central Bank regulations. We know that to be the case, so a "wait and see" approach until after the contract has been signed is not good enough. I cannot imagine how frustrating it is to be one of the owners of these 14,000 mortgages around Ireland and to hear representatives of the Government say that we gave Irish Nationwide more than €5 billion in dead money to ensure every single one of the bondholders was covered. The Government stood over a €900 million bond payout 18 months ago for an unguaranteed bond that was bought in 2007, but when people are now asking to buy their own loans because they are terrified that some foreign firm will buy it, the answer from the Government is that it will let the special liquidator sell these mortgages for 90 cent or even 50 cent in the euro, but will not let the people buy their own loans because it is too complicated and too expensive.

This is potentially a win-win situation. There is no trade-off between getting the best price for the mortgage and helping these families, as well as the Irish domestic banking system and the general economy as a consequence. All these people are saying is that if the Government is going to sell their loans to those guys in New York for 90 cent in the euro or 50 cent in the euro, they would rather buy it for that price themselves. They can refinance it with AIB or by selling the property and getting out of negative equity. The point is that the State is already taking the hit, even though the Taoiseach has spoken about the value to the State. We are selling the loans at a discount. All these people want to do is buy it at a discount.

The Taoiseach and Government representatives have a mantra that everything in the mortgage world must be dealt with case by case basis. Why then, when it comes to helping potentially thousands of families, does that case-by-case principle no longer apply? This could be a win. Would the Taoiseach please at least take one more look and see if something can be worked out? The current solution will profit foreign vulture funds at the cost of Irish families.

The Minister has already instructed the Department of Finance to examine this matter in consultation with the Central Bank. The Deputy will be aware that operating loans are being repaid at par value. The interest of acquirers of a portfolio of loans will be for loans that are not performing well. Every mortgage that is signed for has contractual obligations attached to it. Whoever will acquire the portfolio of loans will have to comply with those contractual arrangements that were set out when the mortgage was originally signed. The additional requirements in the code of conduct set out by the Central Bank are the basis of the instruction given by the Minister for Finance to the Department and the Central Bank to look at the option that might arise. Clearly it has been indicated that if NAMA were to acquire this portfolio of loans, it would apply best practice to them.

I know this is of concern to the people involved and I have heard the public reports, but the Minister for Finance is well aware of this and has given his instructions to the Department of Finance, in consultation with the Central Bank, to see what might be the best option in the event of whoever ultimately acquiring the portfolio of loans. If the State were to take a hit in going through these loans individually, it would be both complex and probably very time-consuming. If we look at the portfolio of loans in their entirety, several of them are performing well and are being repaid, and they are probably not of great interest to an acquirer because they are operating at par. It is the loans that are in difficulty that are of interest to them. That is the subject of discussions between the Department of Finance and the Central Bank.