We are only a matter of months away from Ulster Bank and KBC leaving the Irish banking market. Almost 1 million Ulster Bank customers will need to find a new bank and the same will apply to 130,000 KBC customers. Two weeks ago, the Governor of the Central Bank told me that banks are not ready to deal with the biggest transfer of bank accounts the State has ever experienced. The potential for catastrophe is obvious, but the Department of Finance is completely oblivious to this. It has taken a vow of silence. It is a bystander. In fact, it is not even a commentator on it. This is part of a wider hands-off laissez-faire policy when it comes to banks. There is nothing if not consistency from the Department of Finance. Yesterday the Minister issued a statement thanking the outgoing head of Bank of Ireland for her work over the years but we are still waiting for the banking division in the Department to say anything about the fate of almost 1 million ordinary bank customers in the coming months.

Ulster Bank will give its customers six months to switch their accounts to a new bank or to open a new account elsewhere. In the case of KBC it will be three months. Even in ordinary times, "banks" and "good customer service" are words we rarely hear in the same sentence. The fact that branches have been closed and good bank jobs have been sacrificed has not helped. Staff are under huge pressure as it stands. The recent Central Bank assessment suggests that 50% of customers waiting on the phone line have to hang up because it takes so long to get a simple query answered. This is an historical analysis.

How can we have any confidence the big switch will go well for customers? The switching code is ancient. It predates GDPR laws. I can see GDPR rules being quoted as the omni-excuse over the coming weeks and months for the poor performance of banks. Direct debit receivers and originators of recurring payments are not covered by the switching code. The banks themselves have said this. Direct debit originators will not always take an instruction from a bank. This leaves the customer with an awful lot of work to do. People who want to open a new joint account with AIB or Permanent TSB have to show up at the branch. This is if they can get an appointment over the next period of time.

More than 1 million accounts are in play here. There are tens of millions of direct debits, standing orders and overdrafts. People have enough to worry about at present, as I hope the Taoiseach will admit, without being kept awake at night with the fear of a bounced direct debit payment on their mortgage. This would kill their clean credit record through no fault of their own. Does the Taoiseach agree with what the Governor of the Central Bank told me two weeks ago, that the exiting and receiving banks are not ready to meet the scale of this switching challenge? What does the Government plan to do to hold Ulster Bank and KBC to account? Does the Taoiseach agree the receiving banks left on the market should significantly staff up to meet the demands that will be placed on them in the coming weeks and months? Should the Central Bank use its powers to delay the departure timetables of the exiting banks if the process is not working for their customers? What will the Government do to ensure customers have a real banking choice in this economy?

The existing banks should step up to the plate and should do everything they possibly can to assist the customers of the exiting banks, KBC and Ulster Bank, in respect of their needs and to facilitate switching. I am unclear as to what the Deputy thinks the Government should do. He has not really specified that. He spoke about a laissez-faire approach. I am not clear on what he is saying the Government should do specifically. What should the Department of Finance do? We have a structure and the Deputy knows this. The Central Bank is the key structure. It is separate. There is a separation between the Government and the Central Bank in terms of the management of the commercial banks.

It is regrettable that Ulster Bank and KBC are leaving the Irish market. It is not something the Government wanted to see happening but we know the reasons and rationale for it. The Government does not have a role in the commercial decisions of banks and of those banks in particular. Yes, every effort has to be made that the banks would withdraw in an orderly manner. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and his officials are engaging with the banks that have indicated their intentions to leave the market to emphasise the importance of an orderly withdrawal and the need to engage in a timely manner with their customers in advance of any exit. The Minister and the officials are doing this. They are also engaging with the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland to ensure the remaining banks are prepared to accept applications from customers who are switching from closing banks. The Department will also be monitoring closely the number of accounts that close and switch in the coming months. It will continue to engage with all stakeholders to ensure the impact on consumers is minimised. I understand the Central Bank's supervision of any bank that withdraws from the market will be focused on ensuring its customers are treated fairly and it remains in place to support customers when switching current accounts to ensure it is easy and straightforward.

All banks, payment institutions and e-money institutions that offer payment accounts in Ireland must comply with the switching code. As per the code, all banks must provide a switching pack to their customers. Provision 10 of the code requires that the switch is completed within ten days of the switching date. In terms of supports for vulnerable customers, the Central Bank's consumer protection framework is designed to ensure that customers' best interests are protected. It requires banks to consider specifically the impact of their decisions on vulnerable customers and provide the assistance necessary to reasonably mitigate those impacts and retain access to basic financial services. There is an obligation on the exiting banks and the existing banks to do everything they possibly can to facilitate their customers. The Department of Finance is engaging with them on this and will continue to do so. The Central Bank has to engage on this also.

Quite frankly, the Taoiseach's response is an absolute deflection. The Government has a Minister of State with responsibility for financial services. What kind of message does his answer send to the 1 million consumers who have to switch accounts? Tens of millions of direct debits and standing orders could be in disarray over the next few months because of the disorganised way that all banks are approaching this. What is the purpose of the banking division in the Department of Finance? It was established in the teeth of the financial crisis. It seems that the only time the Government gets involved in banking is when it divests itself of the shares that Irish taxpayers bought during the financial crisis. This is the only policy coming from the Department of Finance on banking. It is scandalous. There is no doubt that if a new bank entered the market here the Department of Finance would be all over it claiming credit for it. It will not take any responsibility when banks are exiting. It takes no responsibility for the poor experience that I anticipate consumers will have in the coming weeks and months. One thing the Government could do to protect consumers is to reintroduce the legislation that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, introduced when he was in the Opposition in the previous Dáil to fix variable mortgage interest rates. We anticipate an increase in interest rates from the European Central Bank over the next period of time. This would send a strong signal that the Government is backing consumers in this country and backing the customers of banks.

I am still unclear as to the fundamental point the Deputy is making. Is he saying the Department of Finance-----

You deflected in the original response. You have responsibility for economic management in this country.

Is the assertion-----

Is it now the Central Bank's responsibility?

He has not articulated it. Is he asserting that the Department of Finance should take over the role of the Central Bank?

It has a function to play.

What is the function? We have had this argument-----

It ought to hold the Central Bank to account politically.

This is an argument that is not from today or yesterday with regard to the management of banks. The Central Bank is there. There is a separation between the Government and the operation of banks.

There always has been. I am interested in hearing the Deputy's ideas as his presentation was not clear.

The Taoiseach is in classical Bertie Ahern territory.

In respect of KBC and Ulster Bank leaving-----

Will he protect customers? This is a deflection.

If you let me-----

Perhaps if the Taoiseach speaks through the Chair, it might be easier. We are almost out of time.

I am speaking through the Chair. The point I am making is that existing banks should do everything possible to work with the exiting banks to facilitate customers. The Department of Finance is engaging with the banks to ensure that happens.