Mr. Jim Brown:

The key point we have been trying to make is that there is a cost to living in a home. The cost to the 80% of customers who are paying is the real cost of servicing the debt. In many cases, the cost to service that mortgage is cheaper than the alternative of them not having the property and moving to rent the property. It is true that property values have moved up and down. It is also true that in the first half of this year property values have increased somewhat, particularly in Dublin. The reality is that when we make a home loan available, we are looking to finance someone who chooses to move away from renting a home and wants to buy a property over a period of 25 to 35 years. That is the way we approach our mortgage business. The purpose is to help people own their homes and give them an alternative to renting whereby they can ultimately own a property.

That is how we are approaching it. It is not a question of looking at the ups and downs of property valuations in the short term. If there are customers who are in financial distress we are certainly willing to engage with them to help them through the short-term solutions. However, the aim is to provide finance in order that people can ultimately own their homes.