Mr. Kevin Thompson:

The Senator is right that once the anomalies are evened out, it will be a decision for the Central Bank and the State Claims Agency, which works through the claims, to decide whether the scheme is either put into administration or liquidation. The advantage of administration is that it allows for an orderly run-off over a long period of time, which has less detriment to both the policyholders and to claimants. The Senator is right in respect of the liquidator, who has to be appointed, that there is an order in respect of who gets paid what if a company goes into liquidation. However, that will be down to whoever goes to the High Court to seek that the insurer be put into either administration or liquidation, and that will generally be the Central Bank.