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Presbyterian Mutual Society

I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. I will touch on some of his points as my speech develops. There is little merit in apportioning blame for the PMS's difficulties. Last month, on 18 February, the Treasury Committee, chaired by the right hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (John McFall), published a report entitled, "The failure of the Presbyterian Mutual Society". Although I welcome the fact that the report highlighted that many people are still suffering, I feel that it entered the territory of who was to blame for the crisis, without finding any solutions. The questions posed when the Chair spoke at Stormont might have added to the debate and, indeed, such finger pointing might have momentarily given a grain of comfort to those who are hurting most. However, the report was disappointing, because it contributed nothing in terms of the real positive solutions that are necessary. That is exactly what I want this debate to touch on today: the positive solutions. During this morning's debate, I will not be distracted by a blame-game attitude. I will strain every muscle to focus every effort on seeking a quick and genuine resolution to the issue. We must all vigorously pursue such a resolution, so that we can alleviate the distress and hardship that are genuinely being experienced by these savers, many of whom have been caught in the valley of despair. Many ordinary PMS savers are asking how we have got into this situation, and it can be rightly acknowledged that many factors were at play, including the downturn in the property market and the instability of the UK's established financial institutions. Again, I stress that we need to find a solution for those people who have been affected by the difficulties, rather than simply blaming those at fault. I have no doubt whatsoever that the matter of who is to blame will be a challenge for another day, but it is not something to be considered now. We must recognise the impact that the crisis is having on thousands of savers who lodged money in the PMS. We, as politicians in Northern Ireland, have received hundreds of letters from distressed savers who cannot afford to pay the fees of old peoples' homes, their children's university tuition fees or the tax bills incurred by selling off property and lodging money in the society until they purchased their new home.