I propose to take Questions Nos. 198 and 200 together.
The monitoring of the growth of private sector credit in Ireland and prudential supervision of credit institutions in general is a matter for the Central Bank.
As Minister, I have no role in relation to the level of interest charged by credit card companies. Interest rates in the euro area are set independently by the European Central Bank and the setting of retail rates for individual customers is a matter for each institution acting in response to market forces.
I have already stated that many people who use credit cards settle their accounts each month and no interest charges arise. For those that do not settle their accounts, the charges are high and they should consider more cost effective options.
Statistics on the number of credit cards in use and the expenditure involved are only available from the Central Bank from end February, 1998, and the following is the information required.
I cannot provide information to the Deputy on the level of credit card fraud as there is no published information series available. Measures to tackle fraud are a matter for the individual institutions, but consumers should be mindful of the constant need to be vigilant when carrying and using credit cards.