Many thousands of families across the State are still experiencing mortgage distress. Many of us in this House know some of these families. The Tánaiste will be aware that vulture funds swooped into this country, the banks and the Government having rolled out the red carpet to them.

They have bought up tens of thousand of distressed loans from banks. My legislation, the No Consent, No Sale Bill, which was passed with the approval of the Dáil on Second Stage, is being blocked by the Government and indeed by Fianna Fáil on Committee Stage. This Bill would prevent the sale of mortgages to vulture funds without the consent of the homeowner.

We have been told that all of the protections go with the sale of the loan. That was never the issue. The issue is that these vulture funds only have a short-term interest. This morning we learned how one of the funds, Cerberus, has hiked up interest rates on these distressed borrowers. Their interest rates are now over 5%. The interest rate for new customers in this State is just over 3% while in Europe, the average is below 2%. It is absolutely scandalous that vulture funds can do this. The reality is that if these funds want to increase it by another 1% or 2%, there is nothing that this House can do. We need to prevent the sale of these loans to vulture funds in the first place.

What response does the Tánaiste have to the fact that the vulture funds that his Government welcomed so much into the country are now punishing the same families by hiking up their interest rates? Can he reconsider his Government's opposition to my legislation, which would prevent these sales in the first place?

I am not sure that the Deputy's legislation will actually do that. I refer the Deputy to the detailed parliamentary question that the Minister, Deputy Donohoe answered on this issue last week which is a useful piece of information. I repeat the point that whether one is a financing agency which has purchased a distressed loan book, or a bank in Ireland, one is subject to the same codes and rules, enforced by the Central Bank, that are there to protect consumers in both circumstances.

That is absolute gobbledygook.

I call Deputy Howlin.

I ask the Tánaiste-----

The Government does not set interest rates.

Deputy Howlin has the floor and must be given an opportunity-----

The Government can actually decide not to sell the loans to the companies in the first place.

The Deputies can discuss this matter outside but Deputy Howlin has the floor.

These loans have been sold already.

The Government is spending hundreds of thousands of euro of taxpayers' money to block that legislation. These families now-----

The Deputy's legislation does not solve this.

It does solve it. It stops the problem in the first place

I call Deputy Doherty to restrain himself. I call on both the Tánaiste and the Deputy to restrain themselves. Deputy Howlin has the right to pose his question without interruption.