John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, the sound quality of Deputy Durkan’s remote connection is very poor and we could not hear the question, but we have to move on.

I have a question relating to the Educational Building Society, EBS, tied agent issue, which was the subject of a court case. Has the Central Bank examined the outcome? It is a closed deal, with just one individual. What role will the Central Bank play in facilitating those parties that have not been to court but are pursuing the EBS and AIB in respect of their case? Can it expedite some form of mediation to bring the matter to a conclusion? If I were to report an alleged fraud to the Central Bank, what action would it take? Would it investigate that allegation or refer it to the Garda?

I reiterate that credit unions are not being allowed to perform as they could because of the regulation being imposed on them. They are not being given a fair chance. They offer a service that is exceptional and beyond what can be got in a bank. The Central Bank has to give some leeway in respect of the regulation and how it pursues that.

Mr. Kincaid indicated he had information on various cohorts in the banks regarding how many mortgages are bad and cannot be reconciled and how many could be sorted out. Will he provide us with detailed figures on that matter?

The issue of customer protection brings me back to my question regarding alleged fraud. Where a customer brings to the Central Bank's attention something significant that has happened in a bank, before the Central Bank tells the customer it is a once-off case and it cannot investigate the matter, does it take the substance of the allegation and determine whether it is possibly widespread or happening in other banks?

Finally, I asked the Governor whether he would consider examining the tracker mortgage issue and the cases that have yet to be worked out, and whether he would take the profile of those cases and investigate whether they have not been worked out because the customer was wrong or, perhaps, because the banks were just dragging their heels on sorting them out because that may create a precedent and a significant number of other cases may be impacted in the context of the tracker issue.

I want to get comprehensive responses to all these questions and I will make a submission to the Governor in respect of them. I bring them all to our guests' attention also because they are significant and the banks think they have got away with the tracker issue, given the balances of accounts left in the banks and still unresolved. I hope the consumer protection section of the Central Bank will take an interest in what has been said here.

I ask Mr. Kincaid to please respond to the questions he can respond to. I ask him to take note of the questions that he believes deserve a more comprehensive answer and to respond to the committee in due course.