Letter to the Taoiseach

To: Taoiseach Enda Kenny
socialpolicy@taoiseach.gov.ie

Dear Taoiseach.

Thank you for the good work you have done so far. Your handling of the religious abuse and Magdalene scandals was decent, and although the legislation on the X case is ludicrous (suicide assessment, really? What are we thinking?) at least your government finally moved to do something, which is more than any previous government managed.

But, dear Taoiseach, the banks. What a clusterf***. Right?

You must be sick to death of it.

So reckless lending by the banks, compounded by the catastrophic bank guarantee, ended up costing us our prosperity. Lots of people are suffering. Jobs lost, mortgage arrears, negative equity on homes that can't be sold.

Now, you might say that you inherited the problem, which is only partly true - after all, in opposition your lot voted for the bank guarantee too, didn't it?

But thank God your government has bolstered the social security safety net, and moved to address the imbalance of power that the banks seem to continue to enjoy in Irish economic life, despite their disgraceful behaviour over recent years.

You have, right?

No, Taoiseach, sadly, you haven't. You've cut benefits and increased taxes, putting the biggest burden square on those who can least afford it. Your government talked about tackling the banks on bonus and fees. You didn't. And now, with the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2013, your government is moving to make it easier for banks to foreclose on distressed mortgage-holders, despite compelling evidence that shows that those banks are persistently targeting the most vulnerable.

Now a bank is an entity that does not have a heart, and owes no responsibility but to its shareholders, so despite the fact that one would wonder how any human being with a conscience could send a foreclosure notice to an unemployed couple whose jobs went south as a direct result of the crisis provoked by the banks, rendering them homeless, they're not, as organisations, expected to look after the people.

You are.

You're elected to represent the people.

You're elected to lead the people.

You're elected to serve the people.

You are not elected to serve banks. You are not elected to serve banks' shareholders. Except of course, for those banks in whom the government holds shares. In that case, those shareholders are us.

So I find myself scratching my head at the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2013. Your colleague Mr. Shatter said "What this Bill will do is to restore the law that has existed over the centuries which enables a lending institution to rely on its security in relation to a mortgage. [...] I am, of course, deeply aware of the issues that arise where repossession proceedings relate to family homes." I'll interject here to point out that awareness and action are two different things. Mr. Shatter continues: "In the course of preparing this Bill, I sought and obtained Government approval to include in the Bill a provision which will allow a court to adjourn repossession proceedings in such cases to see whether a Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA) under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 would be a more appropriate course of action. The court may, in such cases, adjourn the proceedings to facilitate the drawing up of such an Arrangement as an alternative to repossession."

So that seems reasonable, right? And it would, if the banks were behaving compassionately, or even rationally outside of their own self-interest. (Scuse the pun.)

But they're not.

Now I understand that you're treading a delicate line in trying to rebuild the economy, but here's the thing - you're supposed to be looking after the people. Not the banks. Making it easier for the banks to make things harder for the innocents who suffered the most from the banking crisis is a failure on your part.

You're better than this.

You can do better than this.

Who's running Ireland, you or the banks?

Please, do better than this.

Sincerely,

Devin