Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 2 Dec 1986

Vol. 370 No. 5

Private Members' Business. - Building Societies (Amendment) Bill, 1986: Fifth Stage.

Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass".

Mr. R. Burke

I accept that the Bill be passed at this stage, but I must say I am fearful of some of the conditions in it. While I take the Minister as being well intentioned in regard to some of them, there are others who would question his intentions. However, taking it on the basis of the Minister being well intentioned in regard to the abolition of redemption fees and the tiered interest rates, my fear about this legislation is that it will increase on existing mortgage holders the interest rates resulting from the decision which will have an effect of a loss of funding on the societies. Whether that is the Minister's intention or not, I fear that will be the effect of his proposals.

However, there is a need for major building society renewal legislation. The last Principal Act was in 1976 and there is need at this stage for the introduction of comprehensive building society legislation. The intention of the Fianna Fáil Party in Government will be to introduce such comprehensive legislation dealing with all of the operations of the building societies as they are at the moment and to allow our national building society movement to handle the competition which undoubtedly will come in here resulting from EC regulation changes and as a result of the changes in the British Parliament as they affect the societies in the UK.

Mr. N. Treacy

I concur with the sentiments expressed by my colleague, Deputy Burke. The Minister has put a hastily prepared Bill together. Judging by the last two amendments he proposed, obviously he has had second thoughts on the situation. It is obvious from what he proposes that the borrower will have to carry the can at the end of the day because the Minister could not give us any guarantees. The difficulty is that we will be faced with fierce competition from outside building societies because no later than 18 November the Halifax Building Society came into Northern Ireland and acquired a full chain of offices right across the North. As Deputy Burke said, it will be up to Fianna Fáil on their return to Government to protect the interests of the financial institutions, with emphasis on the building society movement.

Minister for the Environment (Mr. Boland)

As I said at the outset, the Bill is designed to protect the borrower to eliminate objectionable practices as well as helping to secure a future for the building society movement and to encourage and, indeed, to regulate them into doing some of the things one would expect in normal market conditions would have been done anyway. The validity of the approach of the Opposition can be interpreted fairly well through the last two contributions. I have endeavoured to act on behalf of the consumer in this legislation and I am quite certain the result will be to the benefit of the borrower. Indeed, in its own way it will provide for a healthier future for the building society movement in the face of the certain increased competition which will come about in the near future.

Mr. R. Burke

We will hold you to that.

Bill reported with amendments, received for final consideration and passed.