Ms Noeline Blackwell:

I will start with the issue of the contract. All contracts are expected to be fair. It is perfectly clear that the way these contracts were made, in some instances, was unfair and did not take account of people's vulnerability. It is only the borrower who is paying the price for this. There is no real division of responsibility between the lender and the borrower.

Given that the right to private property in the State is subject to the public good, there is the possibility of ensuring an effective appeals system in order that a fair solution is proposed at the end of the day. That is what happens when it gets to the bankruptcy stage, for instance, where a judge will make a decision on what is reasonable. There is nothing to prevent the State, except policy interests alone, from putting in place an appeals system in order that the word of the creditor is not the final one. Our policy is that each issue is dealt with on a case by case basis and the creditor has the final say. That is only because policy has determined it to be thus, not because it is immutable law.

Mr. Joyce will deal with the question about the Financial Services Ombudsman.