Mr. David Hall:

There are no impediments. Nobody can say there are impediments after 298 pages of legislation for €64 billion in promissory notes or all of the quick responses that were put in place for the pandemic. Nobody can use that argument anymore. It is not valid. Nobody is looking for a free house or for any freebie. They are looking to survive, to protect their family and health and to do the right thing. Mr. Byrne and Ms Irwin have done everything right. I am not speaking on their behalf but I have no doubt it was difficult and the committee is not seeing the full impact of that here today. I have no doubt it was difficult and there are many other families around the country who are in the same position. Why are they being gouged at 7.25%, which will soon be 7.5%, and where does it end ten years later? People need fairness. Those rates should be capped at the Permanent TSB rate of 3.9%. Why would somebody pay their mortgage all the time, meet those payments and put themselves under pressure? That is not sustainable. I know Mr. Byrne will do everything possible. He will do everything humanly possible to do it, as will Ms Irwin, but that is not right. That is not sustainable. That has an impact somewhere else. The deck of cards falls. It is not healthy for anybody so intervention is needed. Nobody can tell me anymore it is not possible. There is soft intervention, there is hard intervention and there is legislation, none of which have been applied bar soft intervention, and I do not even see transparency in soft intervention. The Central Bank has great power to wield here officially and unofficially. The Minister for Finance has the same power, as do the Oireachtas and this committee, and it needs to be wielded.