Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, I have no statutory role in relation to decisions by financial institutions to alter or amend the range of services provided by regulated entities including in-branch cash lodgements and withdrawals. These are ultimately commercial decisions for the management team and board of each lending institution having due regard to their customers. Notwithstanding this, I have expressed my dissatisfaction in relation to the changes that Bank of Ireland recently announced. I made it clear that I considered these changes surprising and unnecessary. Following this statement, Bank of Ireland has given a commitment that vulnerable customers together with those elderly customers who are not comfortable using self-service channels or other technology solutions will be assisted by branch staff to use the available in-branch services. I expect the bank to honour this commitment fully and work with its customers to ensure that the impact of the changes is minimised.

The Consumer Protection Code was originally introduced in 2006. The purpose of the code is to strengthen protection for consumers by introducing clear rules on the conduct of business for all regulated entities in order to increase the standards of services to consumers. The current version of the code was published in 2012 and contains requirements to protect consumers when changes to services are being made. Provision 3.10 of the code requires at least one month's notice to be given to consumers in such instances. The Central Bank has informed me that one of its key focuses is to ensure that consumers are provided with adequate notice of any changes in service to give them sufficient time to make alternative arrangements. Banks must also provide vulnerable customers with the necessary assistance to deal with service changes. The Central Bank has informed me that it continues to monitor compliance with the code in the context of changing services in the banking sector.

Consumers who are not happy with the manner in which services are provided by the their current financial institution may wish to consider switching to another institution. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission website, www.consumerhelp.ie, provides a comparison tool to compare various financial products.

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