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THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of Permanent TSB has declined an invitation to appear before the Oireachtas Finance Committee on Tuesday to answer questions about the planned sale of home loans.
The bank announced that it is to sell off a €3.7 billion portfolio of non-performing loans, including mortgages on 14,000 private dwelling homes.
Last week the Finance Committee decided to invite the bank’s chief executive Jeremy Masding in to discuss the planned sale. His appearance is listed on the Oireachtas schedule for next week, at 2pm on Tuesday.
However the committee received a letter from Masding yesterday evening, stating that it would not be “appropriate” for him to attend on this day.
Masding told the committee that the bank would be agreeable to a meeting of the committee to discuss the issue, but it is currently in a closed period ahead of the publication of its annual results on 14 March.
Though he expressed a willingness to agree another date with the committee, he said whenever PTSB does attend a meeting, it will be constrained in its ability to answer detailed questions about the planned sale, which he described as “commercially sensitive and in progress”.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, chair of the Finance Committee, John McGuinnness said the banks in Ireland “believe they can do what they want”.
“We will be sending the letter to the [finance] minister to highlight what’s going on. What they are doing now is playing for time. It could be that by the time we get to them they will have already gone ahead with the sale. They know exactly what they are doing,” he said.
He accused the bank of attempting to avoid transparency ahead of the sale and said this behaviour was contrary to statements made in recent months by all of the main banks promising a culture shift.
This it the opposite – they keep repeating: apology, apology, apology, and at the same time they’re making up their lists of who they’re going to throw to the vulture funds. It’s outrageous.
PTSB last week defended the plan, entitled Project Glas, as it said these loans were “typically owned by customers who have not engaged with the bank, whose mortgages are unsustainable or who have been unable to meet the terms of various treatments put in place”.
It said some account holders have not engaged with the bank for over seven years and on average the loans are over 3.5 years in arrears. The bank also said many of these customers have made no payments at all for years.
McGuinness said the purpose of the meeting on Tuesday was to get a breakdown from the bank’s officials of the various cohorts of people included in the loan book, how much they owed, how long they had been in arrears and how long they had gone without paying any money to the bank.
“There are various numbers and so on out in the public domain and there are people who are customers of Permanent TSB who are not sure whether they’re in it,” he said.
“This is a defence of the people who are almost defenceless now because they are being abandoned by the State. It’s a question for government because we have to ask: ‘Is it the State running the country or are the banks going to be allowed make it up as they go along?’”
Yesterday morning Ulster Bank’s outgoing CEO Gerry Mallon also said that the bank could sell as many 7,000 mortgages in arrears. McGuinness said his committee will be requesting all of the pillar banks appear before it to discuss these sales.
In response to a query about the decision not to appear before the committee next week, a spokesperson for Permanent TSB told TheJournal.ie: “We have confirmed to the committee tat we will attend the committee to discuss this issue in the coming weeks and look forward to agreeing a suitable date with the committee shortly.”
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All violent prisoners should be on Spike Island…..
With a snipers in a watch tower on each corner..
Food and new prisoners dropped off every week.
Let them kill each other for all I care…….
Every government since I joined this Job has fobbed the Prison Officers with the cheapest crap they could buy. Instead of buying quality equipment that would last for years the mantra has always been get the cheapest you can and if its poor quality it is not an issue.
And I am sure the members of the Gardai will echo what I have said for their equipment.
They would rather spend ten of millions giving Junkies Disability Allowances and everything that goes with it than spend 1 or 2 million of equipment that would over time save millions.
The latest thing with us is instead of buying new good quality stab vests for each Officer they want us to take ancient Control and Restraint breastplates that have been laying in storage for 15+ years being pissed on by rats and mice that were deigned unfit for purpose when they were put away all that time ago and use them as “Stab Vests” when they offer no cover to the sides or lower abdomen or lower back.
They wont issue each Officer with their own extendible baton because they are afraid an Officer may just actually use it to defend themselves or someone else. And wont even discuss the idea of Pepper Spray which would be much less harmful in terms of injury to a prisoner than a baton would.
Lions led by Donkeys is an apt description of the Prison Officers and the Civil Servants running IPS.
Pepper spray is a no brainer. No lasting effects and drops d gouger like a rock. And shud be cheap 2 provide. Cannot understand d mentality. Do gooders have literally ruined this country and put prison officers in harm’s way just 2 be pc. Dumb!
Honest to god is this government for real ? Leave the prison officers alone. If I’m correct there basically looking to implement 9 – 7 shifts instead of 8 – 8 ? Increasing the working year by 25 days per officer at no extra cost & no need to recruit new staff. So absolutely no family life for the officers. When was the last time a jail went up in a riot type situation ??? A long time ago, officers do a unbelievable job under extreme circumstances. As usual this government attacks the average worker on the ground level.
Pepperspray does not always work. Tasers would be good option.
But really it should be a rule if you attack a prison officer you go to the underground level never to see natural light and kept in small cell 23 hours a day. Even when out of the cell it’s just in hallway till sentence ends.
Would that work mick?
Not sure if ur being sarcastic or not Charles. I’m a bit slow like that. I see d simple picture. Black and white. Prison officers r d good guys and prisoners r d bad guys. So yeah ur idea has some merit. Better than d current system.
Charles. Tazers are pie in the sky stuff. Even with the Gardai they are only issued to the ERU if I am not mistaken. On the whole Level 4 strength pepper spray and a baton as back up would be more than adequate for our current needs.
In fairness the Luas does run to Tallaght.
Many from tallaght also stay in the joy.
I’m sure there are many mothers and fathers living in tallaght who are trying to teach their children right and wrong and bring them up to be decent.
And not make stuck up snobby jibes on the Internet.
State always take cheap option. The luas guards have better stab vests then the guards
Anyone who has a stab proof vest has a better one than we in the prisons do.
Why ???
Because we don’t have ANY !!!
The 1st priority 4 govt and management shud be equipping d prison officers adequately and ensuring their safety. Only when that is fully implemented shud prisoners”rights” be taken into consideration.
The head of IPS and the Minister are from a welfare background and are only interested in positive press and have a view that any prisoner in jail is a victim and should be treated as one and not as violent criminal.
The stabbing of 2 officers last week ,was a inconvenience for them and lip service has been payed to stab vests and pepper spray.
The minister went into the lower house yesterday and tried to turn the incompetency of IPS back on officers. Shame on you minister and your mangers
Prison is a controlled environment. Do the job right and no prisoner will have a weapon.
Says someone that has most likely never set foot in a Prison let alone dealt with a violent prisoner.
Just yesterday one officer had to go to hospital after being struck in the face with a brush handle. Just because you don’t have the imagination to make weapons out of the most mundane everyday things they do. Take a tooth brush to you and most people that is all it is. To a prisoner and a Prison Officer it is a potential weapon. Shape one end to a point it becomes a stabbing weapon, Melt the bristles and insert the blades from a disposable Razor and you have a slashing weapon. A bar of soap in a sock and you have a clubbing weapon. A length of wire and two pens and you have a garrotte.
So when you actually know what you are talking about then maybe just maybe you can make statements like the one above.
I was wondering why all the prisoners like getting boots hampers for Christmas.
Luas security officers are Stazi-like. They’re checking train tickets but act like East German assassins!
It’s a no brainer,prison officers should be extremely highly trained and properly equiped and get whatever support they need at all times,the same goes for the gardai.You can be sure ministers do
In one prison I knew, the prisoners had better stab vests than the screws.
I know … my ex fella was banged up for 6 months for GBH in the prison
Oh dear.
… but it was the best thing that could happen, I met another fella, when he was inside
What!!!
You couldn’t wait 6 months?
Sounds like he’s better off without you so!
Must have been a UK prison because Irish Prison Officers don’t have stab vests.
Glen, I couldn’t go a week without it, never mind 6 months!
Mick,
yes, it was in England
Well prison officers are free to leave and apply for a job on luas security. I’m positive every luas security guard would happily swap jobs with them. Why do people with the best jobs in this country just shut up and appreciate what they have for once. If you don’t like your job you are free to leave.
thats a load of C**P John , So its ok to accept bad working conditions ??No matter where a person works they are entitled to work in a safe environment , as safe as it possibly can be . So your solution to all people who are employed and being treated unfairly is to leave their job ?? Get real would you , Prison Officers are doing a job have mortgages and bills the same as everyone else they are not “free” to leave their employment as you put it BUT they are entitled to feel somewhat protected in a dangerous workplace ,THATS ALL THEY ARE ASKING
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