Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I was struck by Mr. O'Connor's comments on whether the mortgage arrears resolution targets had caused the bank to engage more forcefully with some borrowers than it might otherwise have done. I was also struck by his comment on the use of legal action to bring reluctant borrowers to the table.

I want to ask Mr. Duffy a further question. There is a narrative that were it not for the courts, we would still have people swanning off on three holidays a year, not engaging with the process and so on. I personally think that is way overstated. Mr. Duffy appears to be agreeing that in some instances, legal actions seems to bring people to the table in a way that other activities on AIB's part have not. On AIB's relationship with the IMHO, overall, in terms of the number of court actions, AIB's numbers are reasonably low in comparison with some other lenders. Does Mr. Duffy think that having the IMHO as a body independent of the bank has been helpful for borrowers who may be fearful of engaging with a lending institution?