Mr. Lorcan O'Connor:

I would retain the hope that the actual number of court reviews will remain relatively low because it is to be hoped that those banks, faced with a similar solution in the future, will act differently. Ultimately, that would be in everybody's interest.

I will now turn to whether banks have an obligation to inform borrowers of the fact that the Insolvency Service of Ireland has solutions available. The banks have such an obligation and the Central Bank regulations, in the context of various notifications to borrowers, refer to our solutions.

However, I think it would be fair to say that it is in legalese and in a letter that runs to several pages, so there is room for improvement in trying to make those communications. The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland has indicated that it is open to any suggestions in that regard.

It is telling, and it is a challenge for the Insolvency Service of Ireland and stakeholders more widely, that we had two very successful events recently in Mallow and in Castlebar. We invited debtors to book a free session with a personal insolvency practitioner for an hour to get some advice as to whether a solution could be found for them. Both of those events were oversubscribed. More than 100 debtors and borrowers were met through those two events and in more than 80% of those cases we were able to identify a solution for those individuals. In the majority of those cases, they have already moved to the first stage of a protective certificate, and that is in the space of only two to three weeks, so there are real solutions there. We asked those people why they had not gone to a personal insolvency practitioner sooner. The feedback was "I had never heard of them" or "I never knew of the solutions that you provided" or "I thought personal insolvency practitioners charged hundreds of euro, or thousands of euro even, for the service". That is not the case. As I said, the challenge for us is to get that message clearly out to the public and those in difficulty.

The last question related to this new service and how it will operate. At its most simplistic level, hopefully the message will be clear for borrowers, which is that they no longer have to worry about what specific solution is best for them or about having any money to pay for that service and that they should simply call MABS, which will act as a gateway and refer them to the right person there and then. With regard to our sector, that would be a personal insolvency practitioner. However, that is not to stop debtors who are informed going directly to a personal insolvency practitioner where they will get all the supports available.

The kind of supports debtors would get is, first, a free consultation with a personal insolvency practitioner. The practitioner would do a full review of their financial affairs and produce what is called a prescribed financial statement, which is a sort of snapshot of their financial circumstances, and give them written advice on what are their best options. If that is one of the solutions we provide, the practitioner will run with that case through to finalisation. If not, the practitioner will refer them back to MABS, so they are not left in limbo. They are constantly looked after from within the overall service.

Then there are other supports to ensure that borrowers, if they need to take a court review or a bank has voted against a proposal, do not have to worry about the cost of the review. Also, if there is a specific legal issue at play, whatever it might be, with regard to their arrears problem, they will have a free consultation with solicitors. Whatever the professional advice needed, it is free and available at the point of need. The simplicity of the message will, it is hoped, engage those who, perhaps through fear or for other reasons, have not yet engaged. That simple message is to call MABS or the helpline number, which will put them in touch with the right person, or to go to their personal insolvency practitioner, PIP, directly.