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Bank Charges

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 September 2020

Wednesday, 30 September 2020

Questions (68)

Paul Murphy

Question:

68. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider calling upon the banks and the other institutions which provide banking services to cease deducting service charges from the accounts of persons in cases in which their only source of income is a jobseeker's payment, disability allowance, lone parent benefit or any other welfare payment in view of the fact that these persons have the least ability to pay such charges or to maintain a balance of several thousand euro; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27577/20]

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Written answers

All credit institutions in Ireland are independent commercial entities and the imposition of bank fees and charges are decisions to be made by the boards and management of individual banks which need to be run on an independent and commercial basis. The Deputy will be aware that, as Minister for Finance, I have no statutory role in relation to the charges applied by credit institutions. Under Section 149 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995, as amended, the responsibility for the regulation of bank fees lies with the Central Bank of Ireland.

I would encourage all bank customers to shop around and compare the fees and benefits of the different current accounts available.  The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) website provides useful information to assist customers to compare and switch accounts; this website can be accessed at  https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/money-tools/.

Under the Payment Accounts Directive, all Irish banks must make available a basic bank account for people who currently do not have access to a bank account. The basic bank account is free of charge for everyday banking services for the first year. After one year, the bank will review your account and providing the total amount of money paid into your account each year is no more than the national minimum wage you will not be charged maintenance or day-to-day transaction fees for the first five years.

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