Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

It is very simple. If we identify the bubble period - and it is not hard to identify it, between about 2002 and 2008 - that group of people, whether or not they are in mortgage distress now, or whether they are in negative equity - which is also a form of distress, although not as bad as being in arrears - are unique. They are in trouble through no fault of their own. We could quantify how much would be required to write-down their debts to sustainable levels, so they can start to pay and be treated as normal customers from that point. Would that not be a reasonable position to take?