Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to hear Professor Lane's answer to my question. We need to look back and learn lessons, but we also need to look forward to make sure this never happens again. Professor Lane believes that because the Central Bank has more powers now, a different approach would be taken if this were to happen today. I know some of these customers and I have an understanding of what they have gone through. More and more people are writing to me to tell me their personal stories. While my view is that the bankers robbed them, I also believe the Central Bank failed to step in at an appropriate time. Perhaps it is not for me to say, but I suggest these customers deserve to receive an apology from the Central Bank for its failure to act as promptly as it should have done at that point in time. That is a matter for the Central Bank.

On the question of accountability, reference has been made to the institutions and individuals involved. This is not just a question of systems errors or computer glitches. A policy decision was made not to offer a tracker rate, or to refuse to give a tracker rate to an individual who was contractually entitled to it. In every one of these cases, multiple phone calls were made to the bank or institution in question, often by people who were in tears. Letters were sent to people to ask them to surrender their houses voluntarily. In some cases, the banks took the houses from them. Will the Central Bank look at whether individuals were involved in this? Will people be held accountable for their individual actions, or is it just a case of fining the institution itself without having individual accountability?