So the banks have agreed to freeze repossessions until 30th September?

So we know that some number of people will be in unmanageable arrears by then.

How big will that number be, I wonder?

Question two: how many people will be in arrears who actually have an income with which to pay?

I admit it may be zero. But the fact is: under Irish precedent, it is hard as hell to legally expel certain types of family from their homes, meaning repossession is put off until the process runs its course.

Might it be a rational decision for some people to deliberately quit making mortgage payments? You can re-channel that money into something better, and you certainly won't lose your house in the short term as a result.

Is this a reason for the death of the Irish banks on the stock market? Are insiders aware of thousands of employed mortgage holders simply choosing not to pay their bills? How fair is that on renters, and everybody who lost €7 billion from their pension fund in a doomed (in the eyes of the international stock markets) effort to save the banks?