Mr. David Hall:

I agree with Senator Burke. There is a challenge. The argument is that the banks are better protected now. They have been given an additional insurance policy of 20% or 30% by regulation. The legal system in Ireland is, thankfully, sympathetic to those in difficulty. The unfortunate problem is that we are missing a cohort of data that would allow us to see the true extent of the people who currently simply cannot pay. There is, however, a difference with people who have now taken on loans. The rules are far stricter now than they ever were before when people were given loans.

As Senator Kieran O'Donnell mentioned earlier, brokers and everybody ran amok. It was like the Wild West. There were 100% and 110% mortgages and people were asked if they wanted money for their decking or legal fees. The whole thing was wild. That is a complicit responsibility on the banks now ten years later. They must never forget they exist because we bailed the banking sector out. Everyone forgets that while we did bail out a number of named institutions, by doing so we also protected the rest by there being an existing banking sector. It was chosen over citizens. There is a difference between then and now. I hope we do not see what we are currently seeing. Our objective is to prevent customers coming to us now - because anyone who does is not a true customer, they are in great difficulty.