Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, but while the banks can disagree with the proposition, the fact of the matter is that we have already put into law the stay on any process of repossession until all options are considered. While the banks can disagree with an option that is set out by a practitioner, clearly the last option open is one of bankruptcy, where the banks have no option at all and obviously would lose very heavily. It is in banks' and lenders' interests to be able to sit down with the borrowers, discuss their circumstances, discuss the situation in which they find themselves and work out a solution.

Eighty thousand of these have been restructured. Having spoken recently to the Governor of the Central Bank, the Central Bank must verify and audit the figures that have been submitted by the banks, as I said last week to Deputy Martin. Nobody can be happy with a situation where this is not happening as quickly as one would like. I trust that the pressure that is on here now will see that this happens.

The banks have 4,500 split mortgages, either in trial operations or on offer to customers. One of the banks the other day made its decision in respect of a reduction in an interest rate on a portion of a mortgage that might be warehoused. There is a trial going on at the moment. The split mortgages will be listed in the Central Bank's statistics when they have been operated successfully for a six month period.

When the Deputy speaks of the bank veto - we dealt with this before - the reality is that it is in the best interests of the debtors and the creditors to seek to conclude an acceptable and workable bilateral arrangement under the personal insolvency legislation, be it by debt settlement arrangement or personal insolvency arrangement.

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