Professor Patrick Honohan:

The targets were set by the Central Bank. We defined how they were to be met. This is how they are being met. It is compliant with our rules. However, it is only the start of a process. It is a mode of starting the process and is only available where the other courses of action have proven ineffective.

I will cite a significant number. It is not for the system as a whole. When interrogating the banks, we try to dig beneath the numbers. I do not have all of the figures. For one of the largest banks, of the cases in which letters have been sent, 80% related to borrowers who were more than one year in arrears and 50% related to borrowers who were more than two years in arrears. We are seeing this situation in respect of most of the letters. It is only the beginning of a process - I hope - in which the customer re-engages and gets a proper solution.