Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am seeking the officials' views on the level of detail required in the SFS and whether it goes down to such matters as television subscriptions. All types of discretionary spending, including school costs, are included in the process. My point is that this level of information is not required as part of the means tests conducted by the Department of Social Protection or the HSE. It is utterly humiliating to have to provide that level of detail. I am suggesting - it is for the Central Bank to introduce such a change, but it would be implemented by the banks - that a standard proportion of income be designated for housing costs such that where a customer goes beyond that, it can be concluded that the mortgage is unaffordable and there is no need for the bank to delve into any of the other information. People should be able to spend the remainder of their money as they wish. Given the difficulty in which these customers find themselves, the reality is that it will be spent on what is necessary rather than what is discretionary, however the bank chooses to define the latter or is mandated by the Central Bank to define as such.