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

I thank Mr. Masding and his team for coming in but as time is short, I will be quick. I have one positive statement, not because I want to be negative but rather because our job, as others have noted, is to represent constituents in the problems they raise. These figures are positive and helpful and I wish the other banks had responded as quickly. I will go further in saying the banks have a way to go beyond the responsiveness they have shown in discussions with this committee. The evidence I have coming to me from constituents is that not all deeds are matching the words, although I hope the bank will carry through the commitment to be fair to customers, taking on board what has been said here.

The witness has indicated the bank wants to engage with customers and if it does engage, it will do its best to come up with a fair solution. That is not happening with the cases coming to me. I have a typical example and although I will not name the persons in question, there is a working couple watching who want an answer. They have taken a massive hit on their income and therefore cannot make the original payments. They are in negative equity, etc., and have been part of a merry-go-round of temporary solutions, moratoriums and so on; they are up the wall about the issue. The woman is now pregnant and will have to take maternity leave, leaving them in even more difficulty. She has written several letters to the bank asking for a meeting to discuss something more than a short-term solution but she has not even got a response to that. She has received computer-generated letters telling her she can have another moratorium but she does not want this. She wants to sit down with people from the bank and work out a long-term solution. She wants to decide if it is best for her to engage in voluntary surrender or if there is a long-term solution to keep her in the home.

During the summer, when Mr. Masding was away, I directly contacted his office and the letter sent by this person-----