Mr. Richie Boucher:

I will pick up on some of those questions and hopefully my colleague will have a note. I will work backwards. We were required under the restructuring plans with the EU to sell certain assets and loan books, but I cannot recall any Irish mortgage books being part of that sale. We have, in fact, bought performing books. We bought €250 million of performing mortgage books from the IBRC receiver. With regard to a customer with repayment challenges, for nine out of ten of our customers who come to us and fill in the standard form a solution can be provided with a restructuring option. That may take a number of different forms. It can be an extension, split mortgage, etc. In nine out of ten cases, we can do that. If some change in the interest rate is part of the solution, that is part of what we do. Following engagement with and feedback from the committee approximately 18 months ago, we reduced the rate we charge on a split mortgage.

The State's ownership of the Bank of Ireland is a discretionary ownership by the Minister for Finance. That is not something we have control over. Our share register has changed a great deal since 2011 and the type of investor in the bank has changed. At the end of 2013, our top ten investors accounted for 50% of the ownership of the bank, excluding the State, and that is now approximately 34%. Large investors have been able to exit the bank stock as things have evolved at a discount of approximately 4% or 5% for chunks of 5% or 6% of the bank to the prevailing market price. The Minister's decision is the Minister's decision, however. He made a decision in 2011 to follow the taxpayers' money, in effect, and invested in the bank at that time when the stock price was 10 cent. The stock price is now in excess of 35 cent, so the Minister looks to me like he knows what he is doing in terms of that investment.