Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is a welcome report, but it is key that the consumer protection side of the commission stand up and use it. When one drills down, everyone can identify with the fact that one in ten consumers who responded to the survey spent more than ten hours trying to solve a problem. Up to 50% of the issues were never actually resolved. I challenge anyone not to identify with the statistic that 16% of respondents had a problem with telephone, Internet or television providers. In second place came financial services, with a figure of only 7%, which I thought would be much higher. Banks are pulling out of communities they once served, restricting remaining services and imposing larger charges for basic services. Nothing has been done, however, to tackle this issue. We have sat back and allowed it to happen, even though the Government is the main shareholder in many of the banks. Is the Minister confident that consumer protection legislation is robust enough to deal with these issues? Is it robust enough to deal with the new way many consumers access services, particularly online and through providers outside the jurisdiction? What plans does he have to examine these issues?

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