John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the question because the public looks to the ombudsman and people have respect for the office. Between the work of this committee, the ombudsman's office and generally what went on with the tracker mortgage issue, we have come to the point where approximately 40,000 cases have been uncovered. There may be more. There are still issues within the banks in respect of tracker mortgages, including in Bank of Ireland and other groupings. They are still reluctant to face up to their responsibility when it comes to the changes needed. The role of the ombudsman is central to what I would describe as teaching them a lesson. I am not asking Mr. Deering to be unfair about the outcomes but rather to be absolutely fair when it comes to the general public understanding of the important role played by his office. The public are looking to the ombudsman to implement its full range of powers in dealing with the matters.