Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witness. I will give an example of a gentleman who has been outside the gates of Leinster House and was keen to see the witnesses this afternoon. He owes €220,000 on his family home and is in arrears of €20,000. I assert that the non-performing loans - the example I give is one - could be sold for a discount of 50%. We do not know if that is the case and the witnesses cannot say, but they could easily be sold at a 50% discount based on international prices for these types of loan books. This person's home is in positive equity but he cannot pay the €220,000 mortgage. It is likely that his mortgage will be sold to a hedge fund for approximately €110,000 and the fund, as it is completely unregulated, is likely to knock on his door or write to him informing him of an intention to initiate repossession proceedings. It is likely that he, his wife and his children will be evicted from that home.

The special liquidators could have designed a process that sold him and his wife their mortgage for €110,000 or even more than the price that will be agreed with the random hedge fund that buys such things. He would stay in his house along with his wife and children. What can the witnesses say to him and the thousands of other mortgage holders looking at that type of scenario?