Ms Gráinne McEvoy:

I reiterate those are the commercial decisions of the lenders. We can intervene where the law states those are "excessive", but it does not define what that term means. I reiterate the point that a proportionate and measured approach must be taken. We could put a cap on an APR, as I mentioned, but that could turn out to be counterproductive because the moneylender could then extend the duration of the loan. In that case, the borrower would be paying back much more over a longer time. Therefore, it is necessary to give a great deal of consideration to the potential impact of putting a cap in place. As I also mentioned, it is also important to note that we do not want a situation where in some instances the customers of moneylenders may not have access to regulated credit elsewhere, be that through a credit union or bank. Some customers of moneylenders do have that line of credit available, but some do not. We must be very cautious in that context.