Mr. Padraic Kissane:

Good morning, Chairman and members of the committee. I thank the committee for allowing us the opportunity to present the customers' perspective of what this tracker debacle has meant to each of them. These people are reflective of any customer across the lenders of Ireland and what has occurred and, more importantly, the effects it has had on each of them is repeated thousands of times, and I know that because I hear first hand in my office. When I was preparing for this presentation, I thought of the many hundreds of people I have met in my office, and the stories that were told to me. Each story was deeply personal and initially difficult for them to share. I acknowledge how difficult it is for people to open up about their innermost matters. Financial stress has catastrophic effects on individuals and families. It causes issues with health, relationships, well-being, shame and isolation, to mention but a few. It remains hidden until it is revealed in an appeal, as a process. For the customer appeals panel of Permanent TSB to dismiss these matters is bereft of morality and common sense, and shows a profound lack of understanding the of effects of the actions of the bank.

The words that would best describe the four people here today are good, hardworking, decent and, most of all, brave. They are people-customers across all banks affected by this debacle and they have had enough of the waiting, the guessing, the condescending attitude, and the arrogance shown to them by the lenders of this country. Banks' collective lack of empathy and understanding of what they have done to their customers is visible in their displays here in this room, as well as in their communications to the customers. The banks seem to have assumed that their customers would continue to roll over as usual, because of the trust customers had placed in their banks. Well, we have had enough.

We have had enough of "we are looking to do right by our customers”. We have had enough of the hollow apologies. We have had enough of the continual trickery relating to these matters. We have had enough of the attempt to introduce rates that were never a tracker mortgage in the first place. Most of all, we have had enough of banks holding our money, which now does not belong to them.

What standards of good faith and fair dealing are our lenders adhering to? What moral compass do they possess? It seems all have forgotten, and I speak about the lenders, and chosen to overlook the very laws that are in place to prevent something like this from occurring. It is financial abuse on a grand scale, contrived to deceive customers out of their contractual rights. Some 15 banks are involved. Today we have customers from Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank, as I believe this committee should and must hear first hand what the overcharging and this deceit has meant to the lives of these people and their families, and I want to thank the Chairman for co-ordinating this meeting with me.

I am also asking for the committee's help in ensuring that everybody who is entitled is corrected. I am not sure how this will take place. Let me introduce the committee to four brave people who have set aside their privacy to come here today on behalf of their families and also of the many thousands that have been affected by all of the lenders. I will start with Thomas Ryan, a Permanent TSB customer who is appearing here on behalf of himself, his wife Claire, and their children. Mr. Ryan was a Permanent TSB customer for a long time. What happened to this family at the hands of Permanent TSB amounts to financial abuse and goes to the core of what is wrong with this lender and its reluctance to face up to what has occurred. This has had a serious impact on the health both of Mr. Ryan, who suffered a stroke at the age of 47, and of his wife Claire, who had a nervous breakdown in 2015. This is the couple at the heart of the infamous Ryan v. FSO & PTSB legal case. They first challenged the matter with Permanent TSB in 2010 and were rejected. They then raised it with the Financial Services Ombudsman, where it was also rejected, before bravely taking it to the High Court. The High Court's decision raised some alarming issues about this lender and its behaviour and a tape was discovered that had not been made available to the Financial Services Ombudsman. The customer appeals panel, however, rejected their appeal in its entirety. All matters raised were rejected. The couple remain on the wrong interest rate and their fight for proper resolution and restoration of their account to its proper position continues.

Ms. Niamh Byrne is a customer of Ulster Bank. She is a teacher who holds an MSc in Economics. She had a tracker mortgage with Ulster Bank at ECB plus 0.85% and was guaranteed by the wording of the mortgage agreement, the mortgage broker and Ulster Bank's mortgage centre that she would be returned to this rate after a fixed period. She is currently on a standard variable rate with AIB. She is one of the thousands mentioned by Ulster Bank when they were last before this committee. As she did not have a permanent teaching contract during the public service moratorium, she was forced to switch from Ulster Bank to AIB in 2009, when Ulster Bank stonewalled her on the return of her tracker rate. Ms Byrne herself likens this process to financial constructive dismissal. Since 2009 she has worked two nights per week on top of her day job and during the summer in order to meet her bills. She took her case to the Financial Services Ombudsman in 2012 and was initially assured that it would take five months to process. It eventually took more than 24 months, largely due to the prevarications of Ulster Bank. A pyrrhic and valueless victory of €25,000 was awarded but her tracker rate was not returned. What is most alarming with regard to both Ulster Bank and the Financial Services Ombudsman in this case is that I won cases identical to Ms Byrne's in 2011. Despite this, hers was challenged. Her fight continues.

The third case is that of Helen Grogan, who holds a PhD in biology and came back to work in Ireland in 2005, partly to help look after her elderly father. She had a 1% tracker mortgage, initially with EBS, to buy a small terraced house near him. In 2007-08 she set about switching to Permanent TSB for a 0.85% tracker mortgage, discounted for the first year to 0.6% to help reduce the payments on her big mortgage. At the end of the discounted period, Permanent TSB increased the tracker rate to 2.25% above ECB, and also offered a cheaper variable rate which Ms Grogan took in order to lower her costs. The increased payments caused her great distress because it was at time when she had had to go down to a four-day week due to her father's increasing care needs. She took her case to the Financial Services Ombudsman but it found in favour of Permanent TSB, which caused her great distress and hardship. She tried to put this behind her so that she could focus on her father and on her work. It took several years, however, before the emotional distress triggered by the very mention of the word "tracker" subsided. This has recently resurfaced with the Central Bank review, especially due to the length of time it is taking to get an answer to her case. She has been paying a higher interest rate for almost nine years now, something she estimates to have cost her at least €40,000. Ms Grogan has attended Permanent TSB's annual general meeting every year since then to try to get her situation addressed. It has still not been resolved and her fight continues.

The fourth case is that of Hazel Melbourne. She is a customer of Permanent TSB and is here on behalf of herself, her husband and family. In introducing Ms Melbourne, I would like to quote a line from her appeal submission. Permanent TSB had said that it would "adequately compensate" her. "Let me clarify one point to start," Ms Melbourne writes in her submission, "PTSB will NEVER be able to adequately compensate me." Like the Ryan family, Ms Melbourne's family has been charged the incorrect rate on their account since May 2009. This is still ongoing, though we are being told that we are wrong, of course. This couple and their children have suffered severe issues because of what has happened and they continue to be overcharged. This is a very severe case of the financial abuse, as the actions of Permanent TSB have removed the elements of choice and control from the couple's finances. The matter has had a dramatic effect on their well-being. Their appeal was entirely rejected by the customer appeals panel. It should be noted that all claims in the appeal were supported with documentation. This couple are also currently on the wrong rate for their loan account. The difference in the interest costs between their correct tracker rate and the incorrect Permanent TSB rate is in excess of €60,000 over the remaining term. Their fight continues for proper resolution and for the restoration of the account to where it should be.

I will finish these opening remarks by quoting from the then European Community's 1995 directive on unfair terms in consumer contracts. This legislation, which has been in place for more than 20 years, states very clearly that "where there is doubt about the meaning of a term, the interpretation most favourable to the customer shall prevail." I hope that today will be a landmark in terms of creating a comprehensive understanding of what has happened and more importantly of the effects that this has had on individuals and families throughout Ireland. I would now like to pass over to the members to meet these four brave people.