Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty TD is demanding an immediate explanation on why prominent GAA figure DJ Carey was offered a debt write-down of more than 99 percent.
Former Kilkenny hurler Carey secured an alleged settlement with AIB Bank in 2017 through which a debt of over €9.5m was written down to €60,000.
Pearse Doherty, the Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance, has written to the Finance Committee on the matter to request that it invites AIB before it to explain its policy of debt write-downs.
Deputy Doherty said: “This happened in 2017 – a time when AIB offered no compromise to borrowers in mortgage difficulty, when it overcharged thousands of customers through the tracker mortgage scandal.
“In the years that followed this sweetheart deal, AIB sold off mortgages to vulture funds without any thought of the consequences for families.
“Many of them are now being hit hard with the ultra-high interest rates these funds are charging.”
AIB must explain their approach, Deputy Doherty said.
“On what grounds can a prominent individual have a debt written down by more than €9.4 million while ordinary workers and families are shown no compromise, or worse, have their loans sold off to vulture funds?
“It is time for AIB to come before the Finance Committee and explain itself.”
