Politics

The very, absolutely, totally last chance for the banks

A politics digest by Pat Leahy

Mattie McGrath, Independent TD on way into Oireachtas Eighth Amendment Committee hearing with former MEP Kathy Sinnott. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Thu Oct 26 2017 - 09:04

All week politics has been dominated by the tracker mortgage scandal. Yesterday, the Government laid out its approach.

It hoped that Paschal Donohoe’s statement, timed before a Dail debate last night, would demonstrate its resolve to act against the banks, but also deflect any political fallout from sticking to it.

Looking at the papers this morning, you'd have to say that's been a mixed success at best. State defers actions against banks over tracker scandal, is our lead story.

"Tracker banks 'playing Donohoe for a fool'", says the Examiner.

READ MORE

Tracker scandal shows we can’t trust banks, says Richard Curran in the Indo. And so on.

We have extensive coverage with reports by Joe Brennan and Fiach Kelly with analysis pieces from Cliff Taylor and yours truly.

Miriam Lords's take is here

Earlier this week some ministers were talking up how the Government was going to show things had finally changed with the banks. It was time, they said, for a new generation of politicians to lay down the law. But there are realities of life in Merrion St, it seems.

Paschal Donohoe has not come away empty handed, in fairness. And it may be that the Government has done enough to get ahead of the politics on this - at least for the moment. But it can’t really claim to have punished the banks for their behaviour, much less punished individual bankers. Donohoe threatened them a bit, and they have taken him seriously. But have they really put manners on the banks? The consensus this morning is: very unlikely.

The longest day, again

It was a long, long day at the committee on the Eighth Amendment yesterday. TDs and senators heard from a series of witnesses in committee room three over several hours. Most advocated repeal of the Eighth Amendment.

TDs and senators who are campaigners on both sides asked questions intended to solicit answers which will assist their campaigns.

Mattie McGrath, angry with the appearance of more witnesses who advocated change, but more so with his own colleagues on the committee, walked out. However, he may be back.

Conor Gallagher's report is here

Sarah Bardon on the evidence of parents of babies/foetuses with fatal abnormalities

Law lecturer Tom O'Malley told the committee it would be difficult to legislate for abortion in cases of rape.

The proceedings illustrated once again how the debate is being dominated by the two campaigning sides. Perhaps this will change; there isn't much sign of it, though. Our podcast yesterday, Fintan O'Toole, Kitty Holland and I discussed these issues with Hugh Linehan.

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Newton Emerson says that the Catalan crisis is a double-edged sword for Sinn Fein

Stephen Collins contrasts the diplomatic strategy of the Irish Government at EU level with the chaotic British approach

Fats Domino is dead. Here's Rolling Stone

Irish rugby squad for the autumn internationals is to be announced today. Gerry Thornley's on it

[ Conor Lally on Prisoner Humphries ]

Playbook

Long and busy Dail in Leinster House today, as well it might be, given the House adjourns today and doesn’t return until after the mid-term break.

Business begins at 10am with resumed debate on the Finance Bill, which is followed by statements of the National Planning Framework. The NPF is the strategic plan for where and how we’re going to live in Ireland in 2040, and what sort of priorities, investment decisions, spatial planning and so on is necessary to get us there. It’s currently in the second phase of a public consultation, and the Dail will spend several hours talking about it today. Needless to say nobody will pay a blind bit of notice. You’d wonder sometimes.

Leaders’ Questions (Thursday, so without the leaders) follows at noon after which there’s questions on promised legislation and then the weekly voting session.

Government business resumes at 2pm, which includes Shane Ross’s Road Traffic Bill, which tightens the penalties (though does not lower the limits) for drink driving. There’s been a medium sized storm in a tea cup about this, as you might recall, with the Healy-Raes of Kerry maintaining their firm view that a few pints does a man no harm at all before he drives home from the country pub - such as the Healy-Rae bar in Kilgarvan.

Oral PQs to Eoghan Murphy at 6pm followed by topical issues and resumed statements on the planning framework.

Remember the medicinal cannabis Bill that the People before Profit Gino Kenny championed? Whatever happened to it? Well, it went to the health committee, which has given the idea the thumbs down. There’s a report and debate starting at 8.20pm for two hours. Expect some lively exchanges, before the Dail adjourns for a, ahem, well-earned break.

A shorter day in the Seanad, you won’t be astounded to hear. Commencement matters at 10.30am; order of business at 11.30am and an amendment on a criminal justice act at a quarter to one. Should be done and dusted by mid-afternoon. Hurrah!

Short list of committees, too. There’s pre-legislative scrutiny of a bill to set up a register of builders (The Building Control (Construction Industry Register Ireland) Bill 2017) which will hear from academics Orla Hegarty and Deirdre ni Fhloinn, and from the Construction Industry Federation.

The Public Accounts Committee will interrogate HSE officials on the oversight of grants to various health agencies.

The Finance Committee and the Business Committee are holding private meetings, while the Social Protection committee will discuss “Issues pertaining to employment affairs and social protection” with a delegation from the Romanian Parliament. Don’t miss it.

The Housing and Planning Committee is doing that ol’ water services bill again (busy day for Eoghan Murphy), while the Good Friday Agreement will meet Brian Gormally, Director of Committee on the Administration of Justice and Sandra Peake, Chief Executive Officer of WAVE Trauma Centre as part of its series of hearings on the legacy of the northern conflict

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