Mr. Martin Stapleton:

We are asking for protection for the borrower and an environment in which a person who has a bad debt can have it restructured in a way that meets the repayment capacity of the farm. People must have an opportunity to work their way through their debt, in all cases. In our proposed solutions we suggest that the personal insolvency legislation be applicable to farm land in the same way as it is applicable to dwelling houses. We suggest that interest charged by the fund be on the basis of a return on its investment rather than on the amount borrowed. This is important. If the fund is buying loans at 30% and the bank was charging 6%, in effect the fund is charging 18%.

The final ask is that the AIB loan book sale be stopped. This would benefit the community at large. This bank, which is owned by the taxpayers, should be made to work through its debt in the best interests of borrowers as well as the bank. I reiterate the point made by Mr. Kissane, that large amounts of money are leaving this country as profit, tax free. This money could be made available to other borrowers for growth and sustaining this economy into the future.