Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 27 September 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

General Banking Issues: Discussion

Mr. Myles O'Grady:

I am happy to offer a view. First, there is a deep sense of frustration and pain for our customers who have experienced this issue. The Deputy is reflecting that well. Our first objective is on the basis that there is an enhanced remediation scheme that is designed to cover up to 100% plus ancillary costs. That is the most effective solution and therefore the banks can help with that by offering early funding, whether that is bridging finance along the lines of the proposal Mr. Hayes has set out or otherwise. We can do more. For whatever reason, whether it is due to mica or something else, if there are customers experiencing financial difficulty we are there to help them and to work with them. We take everything on a case-by-case basis. I do not think I can give the Deputy an overarching commitment in totality but we will work with customers in difficulty. If someone is not familiar with interacting with banking, it can be challenging for a customer. We will make it easy for customers who are experiencing difficulties to make contact. We have colleagues who are being trained to work specifically with this issue. We have a vulnerable customers unit, which is there to help as well.

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