Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe. I welcome the witnesses and thank them for the updates. It is regrettable that we are having this hearing when we are at an advanced stage of both institutions withdrawing from the State after, in some cases, a long presence here.

The focus of today’s hearing is the progress, lack thereof and challenges that may remain in the closure of Ulster Bank and KBC and in the transfer of accounts. Hopefully, the publicity that may be generated from this meeting will bring awareness to individuals of their responsibilities in respect of the closure of the banks and the potential adverse impacts if they do not engage.

I will start with Ulster Bank and my colleague might pick it up with KBC, or I might get a chance. I also have a question on trackers I want to ask at the end. Ulster Bank has frozen 126,000 accounts since November and only 224 have asked for the freeze to be lifted. The Central Bank has been before the committee and has welcomed the progress. It suggested the banks were not where they needed to be but were getting there. There are still issues regarding vulnerable customers but the fact the freeze can be lifted has been welcomed. How many of the accounts frozen since November have gone past the 30 days, a cheque written and the account closed?