Joe O'Toole (Independent)

As regards fraud in financial services, particularly credit card fraud, about a year ago it was indicated to us in the House that the Government had been in talks with the financial institutions to protect against credit card fraud. People who use credit cards in most of the rest of Europe are required to input a personal identification number in the store or retail outlet to ensure the process is not dependent on an illegible signature. I met a man recently who said that instead of signing his own name, he had signed the name Mickey Mouse on ten successive credit card transactions and that no one had noticed. The transaction was accepted on each occasion. I am sure Senator Quinn agrees that there is a huge amount of fraud being perpetrated with credit cards. There is an easy solution to it, which is in place in other parts of Europe. Why is it not possible to have a system here where people, who use their credit cards, input a code or number in the same way as they do when withdrawing money? That would get rid of those people who steal credit cards and then use them incorrectly. I would like a Minister to come into the House to explain why that is not the case because the authorities have other crimes with which to deal.