Mr. Bernard Sheridan:

My concern is that we are overstating the extent to which banks are not subject to section 149. The current processes in that regard are evident. The position has obtained since 1996 and we have gone through quite a number of iterations. With regard to what has happened in the interim, I am not here to defend the banks but to present what has actually happened. We have tried to put a handle on it by examining the profiles of various customers and the typical cost to the consumer of a current account. Irrespective of whether one agrees or disagrees, costs associated with personal current accounts range from approximately €120 to €200.

I would not like people to be alarmed that we have allowed vast increases in charges over that period. That is not the case. The Deputy is right in the sense that there is the potential for banks to increase some charges up to a level that was previously notified in 1996 but it is limited. Banks are sending notifications in respect of increasing charges, transaction charges in the main, which will either be reduced or go above what they have previously been approved to do. That is the focus of our attention.