Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Many of the points have been covered. I thank Ms McDonagh for her opening statement. She made one particular remark, to which Senator Kieran O'Donnell referred. On page 1 of her statement she says:

Since joining Bank of Ireland, I have reviewed the bank’s approach to the tracker issue. I have concluded that the bank placed a clear emphasis on the legal interpretation of our mortgage agreements but did not go far enough to fully ensure we were delivering the right outcomes for our customers.

On page 4, almost identical wording is used, namely:

I concluded that a clear emphasis had been placed on the legal interpretation of our mortgage agreements. However, while the bank had considered the voice of the customer when reviewing cases, my view was that we had not always gone far enough to fully ensure we were delivering the right outcomes for our customers.

It is a point that Ms McDonagh was clearly trying to make to the committee. Senator Kieran O'Donnell touched on this and suggested that maybe it is the pre-2006 and post-2006 consumer protection code being invoked.

Perhaps Ms McDonagh might expand further on this statement, since she made it twice. Is it fair to say that the bank looked at the agreements, said that within the law it could continue doing what it was doing and it would do so, then Ms McDonagh came along and made recommendations to the board, for which Ms McDonagh received the board's support? Can she discuss with us the extent to which the Central Bank's involvement was relevant and how much arm-twisting, if any, was involved? If it was not relevant, then so be it. For the figure to go from 3,400 to 9,400 - nearly 10,000 - in a very short time - effectively in one go on 9 November - is notable. I recall the day it happened; all of us wondered when this was going to end. This happened only in recent months. Can Ms McDonagh tease out why she made these remarks twice in her statement?