Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

On my behalf and that of my Labour Party colleagues, I join Deputy Kenny and the Taoiseach in extending our sincere sympathy to the parents and wider family of the 15 year old youth who was so tragically killed in this accident, and wish a speedy recovery to all those who were injured.

Will the Taoiseach inform the House on a speech he made at the weekend where he expressed concern that we should be nicer to banks. While it is important to the economy that banks are financially sound and profitable, surely he is aware that banks in this country are the most profitable in Europe. I am puzzled why he thinks we should be nicer to them. He was very nice to them when he discontinued the €100 million levy in the budget. What does he think we can do that would be nicer to them?

The two big banks in this country take three times' more profit per customer than the average bank in Europe. How can we be nicer to them than that? As the Taoiseach is aware, there is entirely inadequate competition in the financial services sector. It is not just me saying so; it is out of the State's own mouth and the mouth of the Government's watchdog. Both the Competition Authority and the National Competitiveness Council indicted the financial sector for inadequate competition. In its report, the Competition Authority found that between 2001 and 2004, small and medium enterprises forfeited €250 million because of the manner in which the reduction in interest rates was applied by banks to SMEs during that four-year period.

Banks have been major beneficiaries of some tax incentive schemes. In its report prior to Christmas, the Central Bank expressed concern at the rate of expansion of personal credit at 25% per annum since the last quarter of 2003. It also sounded a warning about debt increasing at a rate of more than three times the national income. Against that background, and as a self-professed socialist, why was the Taoiseach so concerned at the weekend about banks and can he give us any tips on how we can all be nicer to them?

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