Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I have only just started. I am not asking Mr. Duffy about his personal relationship with the Minister but about his working relationship in terms of what directions the Minister gives him. The Government says it wants relief for variable interest rate mortgage holders and fairness for people in mortgage arrears but when we complain about the banks not offering such support, the Minister says there is nothing he can do about it because the banks are independent entities. I want to try to square the circle. What is the actual relationship? How often do the Minister and bank representatives meet? To what extent does the Minister ask the bank to do something about variable rate mortgages? Could Mr. Duffy explain the nature of the relationship to us?