Mr. Bernard Byrne:

Yes. This is a difficult issue. The point the Deputy makes is a valid one. Under regulatory obligation, each time AIB increases interest rates it must consider the impact of that increase on its book. We have a regulatory obligation to do that. Another thing we have to do is get to the point where we generate our own capital. If as a bank we do not generate our own capital by making profits then every year we will need more capital from somebody to fund the bank. We have a dual obligation. We need a mortgage book that is profitable and generates sufficient return to generate capital for the bank. That is what we are trying to do. The standard variable rate pricing has been picked. It is based on a bottom up calculation of our funding cost, operating costs plus a margin to get us to the point where we can generate profitability out of the standard variable rate book as a stand-alone book rather than by way of cross-subsidisation between trackers. There is no cross-subsidisation and no calculation of cross-subsidisation between our tracker book and standard variable rate.