Last week, I raised the issue of Irish Nationwide mortgage holders. In approximately two weeks the special liquidator will sell 13,000 mortgages for Irish families to the highest bidder at a discount. That discount could go to the families but instead it will go to foreign hedge funds. Several foreign funds are interested in buying the mortgages and have come to Ireland with the sole objective of squeezing as much money as possible out of these families. I have been told that the funds are looking for discounts of up to 30% on the performing loans and far more on the non-performing loans, and we know that some loans have already been sold at a 70% discount.

Last week I asked the Taoiseach to step in but he refused to do so. I asked him to allow the families to bid for their own mortgages, but he also refused that. He cited a report written by PricewaterhouseCoopers and given to the special liquidator, KPMG. He indicated that based on this report, the families would not be allowed to bid for their mortgages. I submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, asking for him to publish the report. I got a reply at 7 p.m. last evening and he has refused to publish the report. The reply states:

The sale of the residential mortgage portfolio has been developed following professional advice. Neither I nor my officials had any role in the development of the sales process. The special liquidator will not be publishing the independent advice received as it is commercially sensitive information.

This is an outrageous position for the Government and the Minister, Deputy Noonan, to take. This is worse than secret government, as it is outsourced secret government. I do not recall anybody electing PricewaterhouseCoopers or KPMG to make these kinds of decision on behalf of Irish families.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

I recall the Taoiseach's party promising to deal with the mortgage crisis and help families in negative equity. I recall the Taoiseach's party promising more open and transparent governance. In light of the Cabinet's refusal to act on the issue, the finance committee is to act by calling witnesses, who will appear next week. In that context, will the Taoiseach instruct the special liquidator to release the PricewaterhouseCoopers report to the finance committee and the Oireachtas? Will he instruct the special liquidator to pause the sales process that is due to be completed in two weeks so the finance committee can complete its investigation and report to the Oireachtas?

That is a question.

Hear, hear.

We dealt with this yesterday. The sale date is fixed.

The Deputy seems to have jumped the gun again in that he assumes this portfolio will be bought by an outside entity. I have already made an observation on the sale of two previous packages of loan portfolios. In the first case, the extra code of conduct requirements and conditions set out by the Central Bank were accepted. In the second case, the purchasing entity voluntarily adheres to the codes of conduct beyond the normal contractual arrangements set in place when the mortgages were agreed in the first instance. It is not true, therefore, for the Deputy to say that the portfolios are going to outside hedge funds because he does not know whether the valuation set out will be achieved or not. If it is not, the loans are to go to NAMA, which is already regulated in the sense of adhering to both the contractual obligations and extra code of conduct requirements set out by the Central Bank.

The Minister for Finance has made it perfectly clear he is concerned about this. He has written to the Central Bank. It is a fact of life that a court will not allow repossessions or allow this to happen unless there is a commitment to adherence to the codes of conduct. It is also a fact that there is no restriction within those portfolios on people continuing to pay their mortgages; many of them do.

I do not believe the Taoiseach understands what is going on. The fund managers are in Dublin meeting the special liquidator and they have put bids together. The only thing the Taoiseach seems to be saying is that NAMA may buy the portfolios instead. The Government is selling 13,000 families down the river based on a secret report from one group of consultants to another. Only two reasons from the secret report are being cited by the Government. One is that selling to the fund managers is more efficient and the second is that it will raise more money. How much more efficient is it? How much more money will be raised? What is the total value to the State of the various options? Was the impact on families analysed in the report? What effort is being made to figure out how the loans could be sold to the families? We do not have the answers to any of these questions because of secrecy. If the Taoiseach needs to redact parts of the report to protect commercial sensitivity, that is fine, but he must publish it. Some 13,000 Irish families have the right to know why they are being abandoned by their own Government.

Again, the Deputy assumes that the loans will be purchased by an outsider. What evidence has he for that?

What evidence has the Taoiseach that they will not?

They are bidding for them.

Of course the bidders are here. One does not expect them not to bid if there is a package on offer.

Why not let the families bid?

Deputy Donnelly cannot say what the outcome will be until the special liquidator assesses this by the closing date of 14 March.

Can the Taoiseach say?

Nobody will be able to hear anybody if Deputies do not stop shouting.

I have already pointed out to the Deputy that in two previous cases, the codes of conduct set out by the Central Bank were adhered to in addition to the contractual arrangements in respect of each mortgage. However, the Deputy does not want to listen.

I am not talking about the codes of conduct.

It is not true to say 13,000 families are being sold down the Swanee, as the Deputy puts it. It is unjust of him to say that.

Will the Taoiseach let the finance committee do its job?

One should allow the process to be engaged in. The special liquidator has a requirement in respect of all the creditors here. For those people who continue to pay their loans back on par, there is no restriction. They are included as part of the portfolio, as the Deputy is aware. While the Minister has already written to the Central Bank, he is concerned about this. Obviously, if the bid is by an outsider, there will be a court observation stipulating that unless the bidder adheres to the codes of conduct in respect of mortgages, the bid will not be allowed.

Will the Government publish the PwC report?

I said that yesterday in answer to two questions during Taoiseach's questions. The Deputy's comments are not true.

They are.