Fianna Fáil: Block reappointments to banks if no redress

The Government should block the reappointment of bank directors in institutions which fail to address the tracker mortgage scandal, Fianna Fáil believes.

The party will today table a Dáil private members motion calling for greater powers for the Central Bank to sanction banks who “stole people’s money”, as described by party leader Micheál Martin. The Government has agreed not to block the motion, saying it supports the objective and thrust in principle.

Yesterday, the party’s finance spokesman, Michael McGrath, described the actions and behaviour of the banks as “reprehensible”. The motion calls for “a thorough investigation” as to how the tracker scandal occurred and a probe into whether there was any “co-ordination, formal or informal, across the industry”. Any offences must be reported to Revenue and gardaí, among others, it says, and extra powers should be given to the Central Bank.