Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

If we are serious about trying to help people who find themselves in such extreme circumstances it is all around the issue of people being told they are unco-operative. Most days I come across people who tell me they keep diaries of when they try to contact the bank by telephone or in writing. Some of them have thick dossiers of their attempts to engage with the banks. They tell me the biggest difficulty is that every time they telephone or write, a new person is doing with their case. They get only the first name, not the surname, of the person who is dealing with their case. This is seriously impeding people's ability to deliver for themselves some kind of deal with their banks. Should the banks designate their own panels of people who will do this as their daily jobs? I am not sure if the banks are willing to do that because this passing the parcel within the bank is a way for the bank, rather than the distressed borrower, to be unco-operative.

I have a difficulty with how AIB is doing these deals. Some of the people who contact me are asking why some people are getting deals with AIB while they cannot get a debt write-down. The lack of transparency and criteria around those deals is creating an artificial expectation that people will get a write-down simply by going to a certain person or bank. It is not very helpful. I may be proved wrong and, if so, I will admit it. It is not that I do not want to see people getting deals, but I want a level playing pitch for the people with whom I deal who are not getting deals.

What would the witnesses think of the Government establishing an advisory group on the lines of a tier-two of MABS that could possibly move up a level to try to deal with these people? Ms Sadlier said many people have engaged with her. A huge number of people are in distress and I know many who are not engaging with anybody and do not know where to turn. Should we do a national drive on the supports available and who to speak to. We have not done this at a national level. There are many websites but perhaps we should do a drive on national television to encourage people in distress to contact somebody and tell them that there are people here to help.