Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

As ever, when we discuss the banks at this committee and learn more about their activities, we become more shocked by their behaviour. My first question is for Mr. Sheridan. We seem to be hearing that the wider economy, particularly SMEs and ordinary citizens, is being screwed yet again by the same banks that screwed the public finances because of their requirement for a bailout. They are screwing mortgage holders with threats of repossession and are refusing to give them write-downs on unsustainable loans. They are screwing the SME sector by not lending to it and are also screwing that sector and citizens by imposing more charges, essentially to recover their losses. Mr. Sheridan seems to be saying there is nothing the Central Bank can do about it because the banks pretty much have a free hand to do what they are doing because of legislation passed in 1996. Is it the case that there is nothing the Central Bank can do to prevent the banks from increasing charges significantly up to the allowed ceilings in a range of areas because of what was done in 1996?