Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister for Education and Science remarked, we treat banks differently than Sinn Féin did in the past. This is an area that is not regulated. It is an issue in respect of which the Government is in constant contact with the regulator in the Central Bank. On behalf of Government, I have written to the regulator stating that if he requires further or more appropriate powers, the Government will respond to that. It is not a case of saying the Government will not do anything. It is a case of saying that if the regulator requires further facilities, the Government will respond to that. This is not a case where the Government regulates the interest rates applicable to credit cards.

Our job as a Government is to restore our economy to good health. It is heading in that direction and for the first time in a number of years, we have had three consecutive quarters of growth. I do not like a situation where this announcement was made by the banks three or four days before Christmas but this is a commercial entity that has made this choice. We will respond to the regulator who is completely independent if he requires or requests further or more appropriate powers from Government. We want an economy that is running well and growing in health and that as a consequence further competition will enter the market from those who deal with credit cards. I repeat this on a regular basis. It is not easy for people not to run up bills on credit cards and it is a well-known fact that some people have run up extraordinary bills and these interest rates are high. One can advise people not to do that and yet circumstances dictate that it happens. Clearly, MABS is well used and available to everybody. The area is not regulated by Government but we are prepared to respond if the regulator requires further facilities or what he might consider more appropriate powers for himself.

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