Mr. David Hall:

I thank the committee for the invitation. I do not intend going over what I presented recently when I appeared before the committee because l am aware of members' knowledge of the issue at hand.

I am honoured to be joined by Ms Grainne Irwin and Mr. James Byrne, who will tell their own stories and the horrific impact high mortgage rates being charged by a vulture fund - now Pepper, where they were formerly with Permanent TSB - has had on them and their families. Today is about the stories of Grainne and James, which reflect the experience of tens of thousands of ordinary mortgage holders. They are brave in coming forward and telling their story. It is not easy to do, as many of the committee will understand, be aware of and are sensitive to.

Each time I appear before the committee or on any platform, I remind everyone that this is about real people who have been impacted as humans and fellow citizens and have done nothing wrong. Tens of thousands of people have been sold to vultures without their consent and, in many cases, do not even know who owns their mortgage. These customers have exhausted their own financial reserves, having been gouged by high interest rates, more so recently. The Central Bank, as I have repeated on many occasions, is fast asleep at the wheel and is horrifically conflicted. The Central Bank's definition of "non-preforming loans", NPLs, and its capital policy has caused much of the pain of mortgage holders because it has insisted upon lenders selling their loans to vultures. It remains silent on any help that can be given to those affected and, as I have repeated previously, is not fit for purpose to protect consumers, yet it has a statutory obligation to do so. It must be questioned on the decisions it made and what its plan is for the next customers who fall victim of falling into arrears. Will they then be required to be sold on to vultures again or can we stop what has happened previously?

Ms Irwin and Mr. Byrne embody what is right about mortgage holders who got into difficulty. They did the right thing. They engaged and faced up to the financial challenge. They agreed a restructure at the time with Permanent TSB and made the agreed payments. They were then sold by a State-owned bank, Permanent TSB, to the vulture fund Pepper. Ms Irwin and Mr. Byrne represent thousands of mortgage holders who did the right thing, sacrificed much to pay their mortgage and are now being crippled by high interest rates being charged by Pepper. They and all those who have been gouged by vulture funds deserve help. I would be interested to have the committee analyse at a future date any extra profits that banks and vultures are making from the current interest rates. We have been reassured on multiple occasions but I do not believe for one minute that they are not making additional profits. Respectfully, it is incumbent upon the committee to have a look at that. I have no confidence that the Central Bank can tell us categorically that Pepper requires these rates. I do not know. We are being told it does. Remarkably, the latest interest rate rise was skipped. If it is able to do that, does it actually require those rates to be increased?

I am here with Mr. Byrne and Ms Irwin. This is about their stories, which are far more important than anything I have to repeat. I am here to assist the committee as always.