Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State outlined, KBC and Ulster Bank are leaving the Irish market and because of that approximately 900,000 account holders need to find a new home. That process is ongoing, to a degree, but it is causing a lot of anxiety for people. Some of those customers have left the banks they are now going back to, possibly because of disputes over a number of years or when they were refused credit, and now find their choice has been reduced. The Minister of State spoke about the accommodative actions the existing banks are providing for new accounts but it is probably a fact now that Ireland's regulatory regime is not attractive to new entrants. Our major problem is the lack of choice in the banking sector.

I ask the Minister of State to refer quickly to processes that might be undertaken to allow An Post and the credit unions to compete more favourably in the Irish banking market, particularly at the retail end.

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