Marie Moloney (Labour)

I condemn the actions of AIB in requiring its customers to have €2,500 in their current accounts to avail of free banking. How many people in Ireland today can afford to leave that amount of money sitting in an account? We are hearing every day of the week that people cannot afford to pay the household charge and the registration fee in respect of septic tanks yet AIB is now requiring its customers to have €2,500 in their accounts in order to avail of free banking. The bank needs to get real. It is no longer a private entity; it is in State ownership. It is time the Government stepped up to the mark and took that bank to task.

I call on the Leader to ensure AIB is called to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and Public Expenditure to account for its actions. This is not fair. While members of Government are in Europe trying to negotiate a break for taxpayers AIB is turning the screws on its customers. It is time for action. It is time for the Government to step in and ensure no more of this nonsense. I call on people to move their accounts to banks offering better deals, which information is available on the national consumer affairs website. The people of Ireland need to stand up and be counted. They are constantly complaining about the introduction of the household charge. The people need to resist this charge by the banks and if necessary move their accounts to another bank.