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

That is a slightly alarming perspective. I went into AIB with somebody who was negotiating a distressed mortgage. It was clearly unsustainable and what the AIB officer kept repeating was that you might win the lotto. She said that three times. There is an element of that in Mr. Trethowan's last remarks, but it does not sound like a strategy. The reason the Credit Review Office was established was to have an impact on lending that would be substantial for the SME sector and consequently for the dire situation of unemployment in this country. What I am hearing from Mr. Trethowan is that his office will have a marginal effect. He seems to be saying that whatever the banks do will not make much difference either.