Mr. Brendan Burgess:

Legally, that is correct. The terms and conditions are exactly the same. They are protected by the code of conduct on mortgage arrears. They are protected by the consumer protection code. However, in practice, the terms and conditions, generally speaking, other than in the case of a tracker mortgage, allow the lender to charge what it wants. When I raised that at the time, that is, it was okay to say the say that the terms and conditions are transferring over but the rates could be increased, both the Department of Finance and the Central Bank stated there was no evidence that this is happening. That, to me, is not an answer to the question. It was four or five years ago that it was said that there was no evidence that the vulture funds were charging more or were pushing up rates. Yet, now it is happening. I wanted for action to be taken back then to protect these customers. Now it is happening and we are scrambling. The Central Bank stated it has no power and the Government has no power to control these. This issue should have been addressed back then. It is not too late. Let us address it now.