Dr. Michael Somers:

AIB will comply fully with the terms of the legislation. I am not an expert on it and only heard this morning about the five-year provision, having listened to a programme on the radio. The aim of AIB is to deal with customers without having to go near the legislation. There is no upside in trying to get blood from a turnip. If people do not have money, they cannot pay up. There has been a great deal of discussion of debt forgiveness and what forgiveness means exactly. I am long in the tooth and a Roman Catholic and forgiveness has a certain meaning to me. It means one goes to confession and one's wrongdoings are forgiven. While the bank is not going to engage in divine mercy, it will deal with individuals and consider the totality of their liabilities and their income and leave them with a sufficient amount of cash to have a reasonable quality of life. It will then deal with them regarding what will happen with outstanding debt. If restructuring involves eliminating debt, so be it. If money cannot be got, it cannot be got.