Tracker mortgage redress legislation
Deputy Howlin said families wrongly moved from tracker mortgages were being blocked from full disclosure by a legislative barrier and sought promised legislation. The Taoiseach said the merger of the ombudsman bodies was a Government priority and the Bill would address the issue.
If I may, I want to return to the very important issue raised by Deputy Healy, in line with promised legislation. It is shocking that at least 100 families may have lost their homes because they were wrongly moved from tracker mortgages. When this matter was raised with the Governor of the Central Bank yesterday in a question posed by Deputy Sean Sherlock, the Governor said he cannot name and shame the 15 lending institutions or the number of accounts involved, or the details of how much compensation was paid, because of a legislative barrier. In this regard I refer to the financial services and pensions ombudsman Bill, which is on the Government's priority list. Will this matter be addressed so that the important issues raised by Deputy Healy and me can be dealt with? People are scandalised that obvious wrongdoing will not only not be investigated but cannot even be reported.
Comment on this
The answer is "Yes". The amalgamation of the Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau and the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman is a priority for the Government. I expect the relevant Bill to be published during this session. The matter to which the Deputy referred will have to be addressed in the Bill.