Public anger at the prospect of the sale of thousands of mortgages to a vulture fund continues to grow. The chance to regulate these funds was voted down by the Labour Party and Fine Gael in 2015. Sinn Féin legislation to regulate this issue remains on the Order Paper and we are prepared to work with those on all sides to advance it. However, the immediate concern is for the thousands of families now facing the threat of letters arriving to say that their mortgages are now owned by a company they never heard of and that does not want to know them. The people own this bank. The people saved this bank. Regulation alone will not stop these sales. Has the Taoiseach or the Minister for Finance communicated to Permanent TSB that the Government, as the owner of the bank, does not agree with the sale of these loans? Will he or the Minister for Finance commit to doing so?

The Minister for Finance will be speaking on this matter later today. The Deputy will be aware that it is already the law that loans can only be sold on to a company that is regulated or has an agent that is regulated. We are considering whether we need to amend the law to strengthen regulation in this area. Under the relationship framework that exists between the commercial banks and the Government, it is illegal for the Minister for Finance to make directions to the bank on commercial matters. That is there as a protection - with the agreement of the European Commission - for very good reasons. We need our banks to operate on a commercial basis. That is how we protect people's deposits. I ask the Deputy to bear in mind that this bank has 1 million customers and €17 billion on deposit

The Taoiseach cannot tell them.

It is also how we ensure that banks will be able to lend to people at affordable interest rates.

The Taoiseach cannot tell them that. That is not the question I asked.

I call Deputy Jan O'Sullivan.

Can an effort be made to answer the questions that are asked? They are asked in good faith and Deputies deserve an answer.