Mr. Padraic Kissane:

In terms of the powers of the Central Bank, one needs to focus on particular areas. If one takes a microscopic view of the issue, the powers of the Central Bank have improved but are still of a receptive nature. The atmosphere of the Central Bank needs to change so as to be directive rather than receptive. We should not wait for the banks to tell us. External auditors for the tracker investigation have to be separated from their current external auditors and they are all just being moved around. It has been said that Chinese walls have been established to ensure independence. The only Chinese wall is that which can be seen from space because there is no such thing in what I deal with. What will the report say in approximately a year and a half or however long the investigation will take?

I pay tribute to the four brave bank customers who have given evidence to the committee. Do banks realise what it takes for people to give up their anonymity and privacy in order to highlight this issue? What has gone on is astonishing. I said to the Chairman that if he does not believe me, he should listen to the people. I have hundreds of these cases in my office and each one has a story. I have not had a single pretender in my office and am long enough in the business to be able to see through any lies. I do not encounter fictitious claims or people making things up. One infamous night, I asked a lady in my office what she would want from the process if she had a magic wand that could do anything, . Her answer astounded me. She wanted to humiliate the bank in the same way it had humiliated her. It had nothing to do with money. That is what the committee is hearing. These are reasonable people. They are the banks' goddamn customers and they remain the banks' customers. The irony is that many will remain mortgage customers of the banks for 20 years or more. The abuse suffered by customers is unacceptable and astonishing.