Mr. Fergal O'Leary:

No, we do not meet them collectively. This issue was raised earlier by Deputy Doherty. I would like to clarify the position for the record. The Central Bank is the sectoral regulator in this sector. If the Central Bank comes across any information which it believes is evidence of a cartel or cartel-like behaviour it has a responsibility under section 33AK of the Central Bank Act to inform the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission of it. The Central Bank has been reviewing tracker mortgages dating back six or seven years. If it has uncovered any information that would suggest there is collusion or cartel-like behaviour they have a responsibility to give that to us.

We met representatives of the Central Bank earlier this year. Our director of criminal enforcement and director of legal services met them to talk about the tracker mortgage examination. At that stage, the Central Bank could not give us any evidence that we could take forward. As Ms Goggin said, they did not give us information that would trigger the opening of an investigation. However, as she also said, the position is kept under continuous review. We have trained investigators who are highly skilled and motivated and if we find any actionable evidence that we can use, we will take it forward. We can give that commitment today.