Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late. For the record, I should declare that my uncle is a public interest director.

I will address four issues, the first of which is mortgage arrears difficulties and AIB's engagement with the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation, IMHO. How is this process working out? I ask the witnesses to elaborate on the capacity of AIB to expand its product offering through An Post and its branch network. What are its expansion plans in terms of opening new branches? What is the value of the company as a result of realising and writing down losses? How does its make-up play into the value of what is essentially a State owned asset? On the sale of AIB on the market, what is the current value attributed to the company and what steps will be taken to ensure the sale achieves the optimum value for the State?

How would Mr. Duffy describe AIB's relationship with the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation relative to its relationship with personal insolvency practitioners, PIPs, before the current engagement commenced? Is AIB achieving value for money? The feedback available to me suggests this relationship is progressing in a proper fashion and is probably better than the relationships between the IMHO and the other banks. What will be the ultimate cost of this process to the bank and taxpayers? Should the model be extended?