Mr. Brian Hayes:

I have one point for Deputy Michael McGrath, who has been following this very closely. Any time one asks President Draghi and Ms Nouy about this, they make it very clear they do not have a consumer protection remit. The Central Bank of Ireland has that remit. Mr. Draghi and Ms Nouy regard the consumer protection policy of the Central Bank as the primary policy here. Therefore, there is flexibility in what we can do here. I acknowledge that the Deputy is working with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, on legislation in this regard. I raised this in the Parliament and the function of the Central Bank of Ireland in terms of consumer protection was made very clear. Mr. Draghi and Ms Nouy make the distinction at a supervisory level. Notwithstanding these points, the large number of non-performing loans on our bank balance sheets is dulling investment. We have got to resolve this. The question is how we might do so. It is not easy.