Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is correct. I ask the delegates to examine that mechanism because quite a large number of people are tied in that limbo such that they cannot progress on with their lives, even though the mortgage has been performing well.

Reference was made to two thirds of unsecured loans and that there is an agreement in the banking sector on how to deal with those loans. I cite the example of a family that has a mortgage of €250,000 and an additional €50,000 in accumulated loans to cover the purchase of a car and holidays. They are all with the same bank and they are in arrears. They can afford to pay the mortgage but not the additional €50,000 in accumulated loans. Their mortgage is secure so how does AIB treat the €50,000 in accumulated loans in such a case? Does it write that off and just deal with the mortgage, given that the family can only deal with the mortgage element?