Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Let me reframe the question. I would never question whether Padraig Kissane, as a member of the board, was in any way a less passionate advocate for consumers. I know that Mr. Justice Hedigan was not suggesting that, but it is not a question of how speedily the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman deals with complaints. The issue is that the banks have not resolved these issues and that their customers believe they must go to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, something that will take time and something the banks will fight, although that may be the wrong word to use. They will provide strenuous arguments against their customers as to why they should not be put on a certain rate or offered additional compensation or deemed to be affected by the tracker mortgage scandal. The banks will fight their customers. Is there a role for the board to go back to the banks to ask whether, looked at from the point of view of the culture it expects of the banks, all of these cases should be fought through the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, as opposed to being dealt with as if a bank was customer and consumer-focused?