Mr. Noel Brett:

The Deputy talked about the lenders just saying, "Go and contact the voluntary sector." We work with all of the sectors, including Money Advice & Budgeting Service, MABS, which is in the State sector, and the Insolvency Service of Ireland, ISI. Several of my member lenders funded in the millions StepChange, which is an independent, telephone-based debt advice charity, to set it up and pay in full for its operation, so it is not the case that we are saying to people, "Just go and talk to a charity." We are recommending that people go and talk to whichever body gives the advice that best fits their situations and with which they personally, as individuals and families, are most comfortable dealing. I suspect that in many instances constituents will be coming into Deputies' and their colleagues' offices in the first instance and Deputies may be the gatekeepers, recommending that they go a particular route. The important thing is that there is a menu for people and that they can pick the solutions that best suit them. We are finding, for example, that there is a certain cohort of people who prefer to do this business over the telephone, through StepChange's or MABS's national helpline. There are other borrowers who much prefer to have a face-to-face sit-down with somebody and a proper discussion.

In addition to what we have funded and done at an industry level, I am very conscious that several of the lenders have funded and continue to fund individual arrangements themselves. If one considers this on a bank-by-bank basis, they are all signatories to the initiatives we have taken at an industry level. In addition, virtually all of them have other arrangements in place, so I certainly would not want the perception to be that we are saying to people who are in terrible distress as families and individuals, "Just phone up a charity." What I was trying to make clear is that there is a menu of options - that is why I added them to the submission - up to and including independent private advice and professional advice. I really urge people first of all to recognise that they are in distress, to find the most appropriate level of support, to follow what we say in the leaflet and to choose the level with which they are most comfortable and the one that best meets their circumstances.

Regarding the standard financial statement, SFS, I have looked at it in detail. It is a very daunting document.