Mr. Fergus Murphy:

We have looked at 50-year mortgages in the context of the position in Japan and other countries. We would prefer each generation to be in a position to pay back its debt, rather than burdening the next generation with that debt. Most of the structures we are seeking to put in place are trying to talk to this, namely, trying to make that debt affordable for the customer within his or her generation. However, 35 and 40-year mortgages are now available. The tenure of mortgages has increased during the past decade. We are already moving towards long-term mortgages, given that 35 and 40-year mortgages are available.

In terms of DIRT being increased, the liability-deposit side of Irish banks has stabilised and, thankfully, deposits are beginning to come back onshore. Previously, they were offshore. We are also winning against onshore rivals. AIB is up approximately €3 billion to date in deposit gathering. However, we are at an early stage of stabilising that marketplace. Again, the ELG discussion is going to take place soon, we hope and expect, with a view to termination of that issue. It is not for us to decide on tax matters, but, in general, there will be enough happening in that space in the coming period. We wish for that market to remain stabilised rather than potentially being destabilised by something new being introduced which would act as a disincentive for people to deposit money within Irish banks.