Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry I was not present for the entire presentation. If I repeat anything that has been said, someone should draw it to my attention and I will check the Official Report. The Chairman was also absent.

In the course of the past two years, when the banks came before the committee, they were, to say the least, very bolshy. They said they did not do debt write-downs and that they would not disregard debt. They want every pound of flesh they can get from their creditors. That was the impression the majority of the banks gave when they came before the committee, but that is not the case on the ground, as the banks are making deals with people, some of them significant. To some degree the attitude of the banks was based on the fact that they felt the legislation was skewed more in their favour rather than towards the protection of creditors.

In terms of the way the legislation is being presented and what he has seen happening in the United Kingdom, which is the nearest legal and banking system with which he is working, is Mr. O’Connor satisfied that the legislation will work to get people out of the distress in which they find themselves? He said that in the UK the banks, his organisation's sister organisation and the insolvency practitioners work together to make this process work. Mr. O'Connor appeared to indicate it is working in the UK and he wants to fast-track it to ensure it works here. Does he believe the legislation to give his office the power it requires is satisfactory and up to the job?