John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Jonathan Sugarman went to the Central Bank and told it a story about his bank that would shock anybody. I doubt, if he had it all back again, that he would come forward as the bank that he complained about was not investigated the way it should have been. That is the experience of a whistleblower, so much more needs to be done to unearth the information required to take a case. That is why I would expect far greater action from the commission. Honestly, I do not see it. All we have seen and heard at this committee, time and again, is how the consumer is ripped off and information is withheld from the consumer if he or she tries to take a case. When such people come forward, records of meetings and tape recordings go missing. Suddenly, if they are pushed and there is energy on the side of the consumer, the bank may stand down or give in, to a certain extent. As Ms Goggin can see from the various witnesses that we had before us, they are worn down by the banks and what is being done. They turn to agencies like the commission for help.

This gives rise to the question of whether the commission is afraid of the banks. Is it afraid to take on the banks in such a way as to make it clear to them that the commission is going about its business? Many years ago an advertisement was put in the paper with regard to planning issues. Ask the employees if they will come forward and if they have a story to tell. The stories I hear about banks would make the hair stand on one's head. I did not believe them in the beginning but we got the correspondence and had the hearings. The stories only got worse. The commission still has not satisfied me that it is doing anything to represent the consumer or break what is essentially a cartel.