Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

The Competition Authority took a long time, and presumably that was costly, in producing this report. Many of the people involved in preparing it seem to be American PhDs. I am not sure how much they know about the detail of Irish banking.

Is the Minister concerned about the suggestion in the report of the letting go of procedures for notifying charges, limited and all as they are, in the context of Irish banking, given the scandals we have endured from Irish banking in recent times? It is difficult to understand why these procedures should be arbitrarily dropped? The report pulls its punches in giving information to customers on charges, which is key information in allowing customers to make informed decisions about shopping around. Is the Minister disappointed that the Competition Authority has laboured mightily and really only produced a mouse?

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