Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Several points have been put to me. First, I am aware of the differing testimonies given by both banks in recent weeks. While there is no need to do so, we will, of course, look at the transcripts. We were aware of what was said during the questions put to the banks by members of the joint committee.

I am aware of how this matter was handled by the different banks. I have outlined what we have done about it and our engagement with the Single Supervisory Mechanism on this matter. I am very much aware of the worry of citizens who restructured their mortgages and tried to honour their terms and now find themselves potentially part of a loan book sale. I do, however, have to respect the work of an independent regulator and the decisions it may make. It is important that our banks can perform independently in responding to needs and guidance issued by the regulator.

In response to Deputy Burton's call for me to be courageous in this matter and to use the Anglo Irish Bank piece as a springboard for that, the difference here is that this is a bank that I want to be a part of the future of Irish banking. It has 1 million customers, €21 billion of mortgage loans and €17 billion of deposits. The Deputy was part of the decisions that were made that night and I need not tell her the direction of Anglo Irish Bank that night and afterwards was fundamentally different from the journey we want Permanent TSB to go on.

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