Mr. Ger Deering:

Well the calculation we use is based on putting the borrower back on the correct rate and back in the space where he or she should have been. As I mentioned, if cases were rectified quickly or at the early stages, the compensation would not have been as great an issue as it might be today. If a borrower has been on the wrong rate for a year, it is bad, but not nearly as bad as the implications of being on it for a long time. Let us suppose we were examining a case today. Several questions arise. What is the correct rate the borrower should have been on? When should that have been applied? How much has the person lost? This is what I call the rectification aspect of our work. Rectification involves putting a borrower back in the position that he should have been in. The compensation element is completely separate. What hardship has the change caused to the person? That area will take a great deal of work because it differs for different people.

Sometimes we only hear about the people in arrears. It is awful that people got into arrears and lost their houses. However, other people may have made significant choices. They may have avoided mortgage arrears but many other things might have had to go by the wayside. This is a complex area.