Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes, that is agreed. However, it is not acceptable and the Governor should challenge the assertion being made by the banks, in public, that 20% of those not paying their mortgage are deliberately not doing so. That casts a slur on the 100,000 people who are in arrears of 90 days or more, and it is not fair. The Governor should challenge it, go into the banks, test a sample of those in arrears and give us the facts. We deserve to have the facts. It is not fair to have that thrown at people who are living daily with the struggle of trying to pay their mortgage. I put that challenge to the Governor.

I will move to a final issue, the Governor's statement yesterday about the tapes that were released by the Irish Independent concerning the former Anglo Irish Bank. He said in the statement that no new issues have been identified relating to suspected criminal offences that require any further statutory reports of suspected offences to the authorities. It is not for me or any other individual to reach conclusions as to whether criminality existed at that or any other bank, but it is fair to point out that the broad mass of Irish society was shocked when those tapes were aired publicly and reported on in the Irish Independent. Most people find it incomprehensible that the matters were not at least referred to the authorities and let them, as the competent bodies, assess whether there was any wrongdoing that required further action by way of prosecutions. How has the Governor arrived at the conclusion that the matter should not even be referred to the authorities?