Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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130. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of customer mobility measures that are in place in respect of Irish banks; his views on the effectiveness of such measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5375/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As part of the European Commission's approval of both AIB's and BOI's restructuring plans it was agreed that the banks would provide a Customer Mobility package to certain qualifying competitors. During 2014 KBC issued promotional material to BOI customers. AIB is currently seeking expressions of interest from relevant competitors wishing to have its advertising material issued to a proportion of AIB's customers.

In addition, in order to attract new entrants to the Irish banking sector, the Central Bank Supervision and Enforcement Act 2013 introduced changes to Section 149  of the Consumer Credit Act 1995, which provides for the approval of bank charges by the Central Bank. The effect of the change is thatSection 149 of the Consumer Credit Act, 1995 will not be applied to new entrants in their first 3 years of commencing business in Ireland.

For customers considering switching their personal current account, the Central Bank has a Code of Conduct designed to assist with switching current accounts. This is a statutory code, meaning that all banks and building societies offering current accounts in Ireland must comply with it. The Code is available on the Central Bank's website: .  The website of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) also lists the various charges imposed by the various financial institutions in Ireland for different types of transactions - .

I would strongly encourage people to look at this comparison site with their specific circumstances in mind in order to decide which institution offers the best product for their pattern of account usage.