Ms Aileen Gleeson:

The preliminary view was that it would require further analysis. When we think of state aid, there are a few elements to it and one is distorting competition in the market. At a preliminary glance, the legal adviser was not satisfied that it would not constitute state aid, so it would need further exploration. This is something we spoke to the BPFI about. It was considering the matter from its perspective in terms of market share among the participants in the scheme, for example, the different banks, in circumstances where the homeowner did not have a mortgage with one of the lenders. The scheme had 0% interest so, on the face of it, one might say the banks do not benefit but we must be conscious of their facilitating the remediation work for future mortgages. There are questions that need further consideration in order for us to be satisfied regarding the point about state aid.