Mr. John Moran:

As of the end of last year it was approximately 50. It is probably in the numbers that came out today. I have not had long enough to look over these numbers. Is it 52? It is certainly a low number and it should be higher. We do not yet have access to a breakdown of the details of enough individuals to know.

Another point worth making is that when considering sustainable mortgages it is also important we respect the hierarchy of payments, and this will be easier to understand with the introduction of the personal insolvency legislation. A mortgage is not an optional debt which allows people to continue paying unsecured debt without paying the mortgage. In deciding what is a sustainable mortgage for a customer, unsecured creditors should be required to participate in effecting the resolution of the debt because the priority should be given to the secured creditor, which is the bank with the mortgage. We have seen this blockage in the system and recently the Central Bank stated it plans to engage with banks, credit unions and other unsecured creditors with regard to dealing in a streamlined way with a borrower who has unsecured debt from credit cards or credit unions. We need to have a better understanding of who should bear what pain.