Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is of great importance that banks and financial institutions generally respond to debtors in financial difficulty. Clearly, in recent years there have been difficulties with some financial institutions. There has been a lack of uniformity in approach. There has also been a serious issue with staff training. The banks have engaged in some retraining and we have been given assurances that while they are releasing some staff, they will possibly be recruiting others who will have expertise in dealing with these issues. This may not be of major importance in the context of a debt relief notice which, if it comes to dealing with banks, will perhaps apply to small amounts of credit card debt as opposed to major debt, but it is of the utmost importance that banks have proper procedures in place and that they properly respond to individuals. It is important when individuals are travelling the route of one of the non-judicial debt settlement options that if there is a possibility of a resolution without the necessity of formal arrangements being put in place.