Mr. Lorcan O'Connor:

I will begin by dealing with the Deputy's questions in general terms. He was close to the development of the legislation, which is probably unique in that it has been reviewed and amended on several occasions already. That demonstrates a willingness across all parties to make it work. We are equally committed to making it work.

While we identified the perceived bank veto as an issue, it was in terms of communications with debtors rather than a meaningful statistical sample that would allow us to state the reason for the problem. We do not have a sufficient number of cases to gather such data but it has been my experience whenever I have been interviewed on radio or for newspapers, or spoke at town hall meetings and in other settings about what we can offer to people who are in financial distress, the response is that none of it matters when the banks have a veto. That was the roadblock I believed we needed to move aside, rather than necessarily having the statistical analysis that would allow us to stand over anything beyond it. In respect of timing, the Government review was announced last autumn and intensive efforts have been made over the months prior to the more recent announcement.