Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not underestimate the challenges Mr. Byrne inherited in terms of the amount of the bank's losses and some of the practices that took place in the bank during the height of the boom. We are approaching the end of this year and at the mid-point of the year there were 13,325 principal dwelling homes in mortgage arrears of 90 days or more. Can Mr. Byrne give a best estimate of the breakdown of those figures? How many of them are the hard core cases? How many are there where there might be no option but to repossess the home or seek voluntary surrender? How does he believe these will be resolved? As I said to Mr. Byrne and his predecessors previously, it is deeply frustrating to see that there are still thousands of cases so long in arrears. It is not just me pointing this out; other external agencies are doing so. It is causing a drag on the bank and on the wider economy. We must clear it up. Can Mr. Byrne give an indication of what the position will be over the next 12 months with the huge level of arrears in his institution?