Lorraine Higgins (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I beg the indulgence of the Leas-Chathaoirleach as I paint the scenarios of payment protection insurance fraud on customers; bad management decisions resulting in hundreds of thousands being unable to get access to their own cash; increasing interest rates unilaterally without consultation with the Government or the Central Bank; the second worst lending record to the SME sector, only behind Greece; and, more seriously, the erroneous and defamatory reporting of people's credit histories to the Irish Credit Bureau. This is not happening in any maligned banking utopia; it is happening here in Ireland. Despite the lawless state in which Irish banks, State-owned and otherwise, exist, our Financial Regulator is yet to intervene, while the Central Bank appears to be vocal on macro issues only and not national banking issues of paramount importance.

What is happening is a scandal. Five days ago I first raised the matter of data audits revealing the misreporting of credit histories of thousands of customers to the Irish Credit Bureau by Permanent TSB and AIB. On that day I wrote to David Duffy, the CEO of AIB, and Jeremy Masding of PTSB to request them to right this wrong and defamatory act with regard to credit reports for their customers and make a goodwill gesture to those whose details they erroneously and adversely entered. I also requested they establish a helpline to deal with the issue and ensure anyone using the helpline would be reimbursed. Their lack of response shows a complete failure by these banking institutions to make themselves accountable to the public for their negligence in dealing with their customers' credit histories.

It is important that we do not forget the significance of these errors. To input an adverse credit finding against a customer in Irish Credit Bureau records is to suggest he or she is insolvent, which gives the message that the person cannot pay his or her debts as they fall due. This is not only defamatory with ramifications for a person's good name, but it may prevent the person from obtaining finance. It is clear from the banks' actions that they are not listening, they are not interested in listening, and they do not care what unmitigated mess they inflict on the lives of their unsuspecting customers. So far, the response of Permanent TSB and AIB has been lamentably poor. We need the Minister for Finance, the Financial Regulator and the Governor of the Central Bank to intervene in the matter. I can confirm that in the absence of the rogue banks responding to me I have been left with no alternative than to make contact with the aforementioned to hold them to account for their negligence. It is clear that we, their customers, still rank bottom in priority despite all of the guarantees to the contrary.

We must be mindful that it was we, as taxpayers, who bailed out these institutions whose response is to affect the lives of their customers in such a negative way. On behalf of those people affected by erroneous reporting of credit histories, I want to know whether Irish banks will ensure their customers can have peace of mind. I have failed to be convinced of this thus far. In the circumstances, I reiterate my calls made during the Ulster Bank fiasco for a banking inquiry to get to the bottom of the continuous and horrendous mismanagement by the banks' directors.