Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 January 2014
49. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a table outlining the charges currently imposed by each bank operating in Ireland on current accounts, that is, quarterly fees, ATM withdrawal fees, debit card purchase fee and so on; and a table showing the same data as at 1 October 2013. [3281/14]
View answerI do not have access to the data requested. As the Deputy is aware, banks display in their branches a list of certain charges. Under Section 149 of the Consumer Credit Act, 1995 (as amended), credit Institutions and bureaux de change must notify the Central Bank of Ireland (the Central Bank) if they wish to introduce any new customer charge for providing a service or increase any existing customer charge for providing a service. The Central Bank assesses these charges based on four criteria set out in the legislation:
- The promotion of fair competition;
- The commercial justification submitted in respect of the proposal;
- The impact new charges or increases in existing charges will have on customers;
- Passing on costs to customers.
The Central Bank may either approve or reject an institution s application under Section 149. An institution may choose however, not to apply charges for which it already has approval for commercial or competitive reasons and then subsequently apply such charges at its own discretion. In this regard these concessions are not subject to a Section 149 notification i.e. an institution may choose to apply such internal account structures at its own discretion and so the Central Bank has no power in this area to approve/reject such revisions. The National Consumer Agency provides comparison tools for financial products including current accounts on its website http://www.consumerhelp.ie. I would strongly advise consumers to use this site if they are unhappy with their current account provider for any reason, including cost of fees. The Code of Conduct on the Switching of Current Accounts with Credit Institutions is available on the Central Bank's website at http://www.centralbank.ie/regulation/processes/consumer-protection-code/Pages/codes-of-conduct.aspx. This simplifies the switching of current accounts between Credit Institutions for the consumer.
