Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Quite frankly, the Taoiseach's response is an absolute deflection. The Government has a Minister of State with responsibility for financial services. What kind of message does his answer send to the 1 million consumers who have to switch accounts? Tens of millions of direct debits and standing orders could be in disarray over the next few months because of the disorganised way that all banks are approaching this. What is the purpose of the banking division in the Department of Finance? It was established in the teeth of the financial crisis. It seems that the only time the Government gets involved in banking is when it divests itself of the shares that Irish taxpayers bought during the financial crisis. This is the only policy coming from the Department of Finance on banking. It is scandalous. There is no doubt that if a new bank entered the market here the Department of Finance would be all over it claiming credit for it. It will not take any responsibility when banks are exiting. It takes no responsibility for the poor experience that I anticipate consumers will have in the coming weeks and months. One thing the Government could do to protect consumers is to reintroduce the legislation that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, introduced when he was in the Opposition in the previous Dáil to fix variable mortgage interest rates. We anticipate an increase in interest rates from the European Central Bank over the next period of time. This would send a strong signal that the Government is backing consumers in this country and backing the customers of banks.

See this speech in context