Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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What does the Central Bank use in regard to the switching code? We have a switching code, which is on a statutory footing under the Central Bank Acts, that allows people to switch their bank accounts from one bank account to another and their direct debits will switch with it. There are a few arrangements that will not switch but many of them will. It is my view the banks are actually encouraging the closure of accounts and the establishment of new accounts, which means people have to switch every single direct debit themselves.

Has the Central Bank had a conversation with the CEO of the closing banks and asked to see the letters they are sending their customers? How much emphasis is being put on the statutory provision, the right that is enshrined in law, that people can switch their accounts from KBC or Ulster Bank to whichever bank they want, and that there is a process in place that both banks have to comply with legally? It should not be on the individual to close his or her account, to go across the road, wait for an appointment to open a new account, which we have heard can be three, four or five weeks away in some cases, and when the account is open, that individual has to go through every single direct debit and make sure he or she has switched it.

This involves 1 million accounts. I have not heard anything about a task force. I do not know if there is a dedicated team. I do not know if the Central Bank has met with the CEOs of the banks. I have met with the CEOs. What is the Central Bank's approach in terms of the switching code? Mr. Kincaid said that both receiving banks and giving banks are not there yet, and yet these letters will be issued in the coming days.