Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Even since the report's publication, Bank of Ireland has increased the quarterly maintenance fee for business customers from €5.25 to €15. Cheque lodgement charges have increased from 20 cent to 60 cent, while a book of 50 cheques now costs €15, as opposed to €4. Equally, AIB increased its fee for an e-banking product by 25% overnight after directing approximately 46,000 businesses into it. These charges have a direct impact on the bottom line of small and medium enterprises that are struggling. Many banks now dictate the days on which coins can be lodged, for example; therefore, if a person works in a service industry, there are days when he or she may be forced to keep cash on the premises because the banks will only take coins on specific days and sometimes only two or three days a week. That happens in a town not far from where the Minister lives and in which there is a big dependence on the service industry. One arm of the Central Bank does not know what the other is doing. Its representatives have lectured us about costs in the economy moving out of the stream, but, on the other hand, they seem content to stand by and allow this level of increase. I note the Minister's comment on the charges being listed on the website, but he knows that businesses find it difficult to shop around for banking facilities because of security concerns and the problems which come in moving from one bank to another. They do not tend to do it and it seems the banks are exploiting this inability to move.

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