Mr. Richie Boucher:

The Deputy would not expect me to concur with his assertions, but I will outline some facts. Our net interest margin is 2.08% across the group. If one compares that with banks in Britain, the US and many European banks, it is a low net interest margin. Relative to that, it is a recovering net interest margin, but it would not be construed as an exceptional net interest margin. That is a fact. There are different funding structures, different loss experiences and a range of things that impact on banks' pricing models. We compete for our business in Ireland and for our business in the UK, continental Europe and in the US in different parts of our businesses. We compete on the basis that we want our customers for the long term.

We must have products that are sustainable. We have seen entrants into markets, including this market, who have had unsustainable business models. They come in with pricing structures or business models that just do not work and they leave or collapse. Some of our competitors have collapsed.

As to the Irish taxpayer, one of the key focuses of this bank, perhaps distinguishing it from other banks, is the absolute focus we had on repaying the State aid and to bring the taxpayers a profit. The taxpayers have it.

What we have returned to taxpayers is cash that can be used for other purposes. Banks should never have been supported by or needed support from taxpayers. We must ensure we put structures in place to make sure that will never happen again. Part of the way we have to think about running our business involves the return of taxpayers' cash for them to do what they like with it, which is very important. This has been at the heart and a key component of our strategy in the past six years. To be quite frank, I do not see the same attention in other banks.