Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy's line is a nice line to throw out, but if he thinks about it he will see it has the very opposite effect of what he claims he is trying to do. The Deputy should not put out his little by-lines and then expect they will not be referred to in the response. There is no question of doing that. What we are trying to do and what the interim report on mortgage arrears and personal debt is trying to do is to bring forward practical steps. The report makes certain recommendations to the Financial Regulator, which will be acted on and which he will seek to implement. Thankfully, the number of repossessions here has remained very low. This reflects the measures that have been put in place in the past two years and the code of conduct for covered institutions has had some effect. The need for people to engage, the question of a resolution process that will provide for consistency across the board for all institutions, and the avoidance of payment of penalty interest for borrowers who obtain the mortgage interest supplement - these are all of important practical assistance to the 30,000 people who find themselves in arrears for 90 days or more and the similar number who may have entered into forbearance arrangements with their lenders. While it is a big issue for every individual family which finds itself in that situation, in the overall context of the number of mortgages taken out in this country, the number in difficulty is a small percentage of the total. However, there is no room for complacency. The work of the group is ongoing and it will come forward with further recommendations in several months time. It is not correct for the Deputy to make the assertions he is making in this regard.

In regard to the NAMA situation, the central projection has been brought forward and that report will be published today or tomorrow. The central projection suggests there will be some profit made by NAMA. It also sets out other scenarios, some of which would see a higher profit for NAMA in certain circumstances and, given that we are dealing with a ten-year projection, it also refers to a lesser case scenario of some losses. Any such losses will be levyable as a surcharge on banks in any event. The portrayal of the report as showing that NAMA will be loss-making is not correct. The central projection sets out a profit over that period based on the data it has now, and those data relate to the information it has received as a result of the engagement it has had since last autumn with the banks. The draft plan stated very clearly in its first sentence that it relates to information that was then being furnished by the banks. There has been a rigorous and aggressive assessment of all loans on a loan-by-loan basis, and what has emerged is set out in the annual report today.

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