Danny Healy-Rae criticises bill for aiding 'vulture funds'
Danny Healy-Rae criticised a recently published bill, saying it would advantage vulture funds and risk evicting families, farmers and commercial property owners. He said he will oppose and vote against the bill and urged amendments to Chapter 3.
Main objection
Danny Healy-Rae argued the bill is "dressed up" as COVID-19 legislation but would abolish long-standing protections to appease vulture funds. He focused on Chapter 3 and the impact on admissibility of hearsay evidence, saying it would give receivers and vulture funds an easy route to court.
Court case and timing
He referenced the Peel Court decision in Promontory versus Barnes and criticised the speed of the bill's progress, noting the Barnes case was in court in April and the bill was proposed on July 22. He warned the bill is proceeding at "breakneck speed" and seeks to overturn that recent judicial decision.
Evidence concerns
Danny Healy-Rae said the bill would lower standards of evidence in civil proceedings - allowing hearsay and unverified information to be treated as credible. He described that change as unfair and likely to cause hardship for people who may have done nothing wrong.
Impact on families and businesses
He warned the measures would make it easier for vulture funds and receivers to evict Irish families, take farms from farmers and seize commercial property. He said passing the bill in its current format would be an abdication of elected members' duty to protect working people, farmers, home owners and business people.
Calls for amendment and criticism of banks
Danny Healy-Rae called for Chapter 3 to be properly amended or disregarded and blamed banks for selling debt to vulture funds. He said allowing banks to sell debt to those funds was wrong and should be addressed rather than enabling the funds' actions.
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Thank you very much. I do want to wish you well, Minister, in your new post. And I think you're very fit. I see you're running yesterday evening to the Chamber and to not bother you at all. But however, Minister, I will be opposing and voting against this bill as well because I'm very worried about parts of it. This new bill currently published is dressed up to look like it's only dealing with issues to help in terms of COVID-19. However, centuries of legislation will be abolished to appease vulture funds who want to evict Irish families or maybe take farms off of farmers or property off of commercial property owners. Chapter 3 relates to a very important decision in the Peel Court recently in Promontory versus Barnes regarding the admissibility of hearsay that took in all other relevant authorities and in effect gave the vultures and receivers a very easy route to court and a more than credible defence against them in terms of how they might present their alleged evidence. This bill is going through at breakneck speed. This bill is going through at breakneck speed. The Barnes case was in court in April and this bill was proposed on July 22nd. They effectively not only want to kill the decision in the Barnes case in its entirety but also to make it even easier in terms of evidence from parties in civil proceedings which would make it a free for all. You don't even have to identify where you got information. Just in effect believe it to be true and that should be good enough according to this bill as is worded. That's very wrong and very unfair and would be undue and cause a massive hardship on poor people who may have done nothing wrong. This bill cannot and should not be allowed to be passed in this format. It's a blatant attempt to further the cause of vulture firms and receivers in particular who have been fining the courts a much rocky road of late. Chapter 3 needs to be amended. Chapter 3 needs to be amended properly. It should be disregarded. If we as elected members let down honouring working people, farmers, house owners, business people, by allowing it, by making it easier for vulture funds to take that property off them and sell them, we would be abdicating our duty. And, Chairman, I just want to say these vultures and like Matthew said vultures, we all know what they are and the way the banks have handled this and sold their debt to these vulture funds, that's wrong in the first place and that's what we should be addressing to get rid of them. It should never have happened that they would be allowed to sell their debt to vulture funds.
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