Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It still left a huge shortcoming in the sale value, which we can only ascertain by what happened with those properties afterwards. Certainly, the ones I and others have seen were disposed of for a fraction of the actual value of the original loan or the value of the property initially at the point of purchase, perhaps during the 2000s. My point is that if the borrower, the householder, had gotten that deal or a deal that was half as fair, they would still be in their homes. What was the Central Bank doing at that time? That puzzled me. I did not have an answer for people. I am trying to figure out at this point, removed from it all when many of these have been disposed of, if there was anything the Central Bank could have done. Did it play a role in advancing this? I understand that underperforming loans could damage the bank's loan book, performance and balance sheet. On the other hand, by them being sold off for a fraction, perhaps 25% or 30%, of their value, that also left a big hole in the banks, which the public had to fill. What role did the Central Bank have in all of that?