irishexaminermar22
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22.03.12 IRISH EXAMINER Recommended retail price in Ireland €1.90 XX1 - V1 Thursday, March 22, 2012 www.irishexaminer.com No. 58,996 €1.90 INDEX SUDOKU..................... 2 FEATURES................ 15 SPORT ................. 21-29 ADVERTS ................. 30 TV...................... 31&32 DEATHS ................... 33 ■ Consumers urged to shop around as fees may hit 60% of customers by Vincent Ryan The era of free banking is dead — the head of the Consumers’ Association of Ireland, Dermott Jewell has said after AIB announced a raft of new charges. Consumer groups have also advised customers to shop around for a better deal. From May 28, AIB will begin charging customers — who do not maintain a minimum of €2,500 in their current accounts — transaction fees and maintenance charges. The charges include: ■ 20c for every debit card transaction; ■ 30c for every paper and staff-assisted transaction including cheques, counter withdrawals and lodge- ments, and staff-assisted transactions at any AIB branch or in the post office; ■ 30c for withdrawing cash at the counter; ■ 20c for every cash withdrawal from ATM’s with AIB banklink cards and AIB debit cards. AIB will also be adding a €4.50 per financial quarter, or €18 a year charge on top of transaction fees. Bank of Ireland require customers to maintain a minimum of €3,000 in their account or lodge at least €3,000 and make nine payments using banking 365 during the quarter to avoid fees. If a customer is subject to fees, these can either be paid at 28c per transaction or a flat fee of €11.40 per quarter for 90 transactions. The withdrawal of free banking facilities at AIB is an effort to turn the State- owned bank into a viable business again, according to the director of personal and business banking at AIB, Bernard Byrne. “Free banking offerings across the industry have changed significantly in recent times,” he said. “While this was a difficult decision to make, nonethe- less it is a necessary one if we are to continue to create the conditions in which we can become a strong and vi- able entity again.” The new charges are ex- pected to hit as many as 60% of the bank’s customers. AIB Advantage (Over 60s), Student Accounts and Graduate Accounts will not be subject to the charges. “The era of free banking is all but dead, as far as I am aware, Ulster Bank are now the only bank offering free banking. Consumers need to see what is available to dispel the illusion of compe- tition that exists in Irish banking,” said Dermott Jewell of the Consumers’ Association of Ireland. The introduction of fees and charges has led the chief executive of the National Consumer Agency, Ann Fitzgerald, to call on con- sumers to consider moving to rival banks. “AIB current account customers who met the previous criteria for free banking should look at their statements, assess what their fees would have been, and work out whether it makes sense for them to switch.” She said maintaining a balance of €2,500 in an account which does not pay interest is the equivalent of paying €98 a year. “In addition, with no interest paid on credit balances, this means that consumers are losing out on up to €98 a year in interest that they could earn if this money was on deposit, de- pending on the type of de- posit account chosen. Many consumers will be unable to meet this condition unless they move money from a savings account into their current account, thereby losing out on the interest they would earn,” she said. BUSINESS: 17 AIB charges end ‘era of free banking’ Mourners grieve for victims of Alpine bus crash Noonan hopes to settle €3.1bn Anglo payout with bond by Paul O’Brien Political Editor Government hopes have risen that it can avoid having to fork out €3.1bn in cash to Anglo at the end of the month. Finance Minister Michael Noonan last night signalled that the Coalition was on the verge of a breakthrough in its ongoing negotiations with the troika of ECB, EU and IMF. With the Mar 31 repayment date looming, Mr Noonan said his hope was to settle the €3.1bn due by way of a Govern- ment bond — essentially an IOU — rather than cash. While the money would still be owed, payment would be deferred until a later date. This would give the Govern- ment time to conclude the nego- tiations with the troika on the overall cost of the Anglo-Irish Nationwide bailout. The bailout of the two financial institutions, now merged and known as the Irish Bank Resolution Corp, cost €30.6bn. The Government funded this through a promissory note system — also a form of IOU. The promissory notes, along with interest totalling €16.8bn, are due to be paid off over a 20-year period, meaning the total cost of the bailout will be €47.4bn unless the troika agrees to a cheaper alternative. The €3.1bn due on Mar 31 represented the portion of the €47.4bn meant for repayment this year. Government hopes of defer- ring the cash payment appeared to be dashed earlier this month when European Commission vice-president Olli Rehn stated bluntly that he expected Ireland to meet its commitments. But last night, Mr Noonan told the Dáil there had been “developments” on the issue earlier in the day. He said: “The discussions with the European authorities on the general issue continue, but we are now negotiating with the EU authorities, and principally with the ECB, on the basis that the €3.06bn cash instalment due from the minister to IBRC on Mar 31, 2012, under the terms of the IBRC promissory note could be settled by the delivery of a long-term Irish Government bond. The details of the arrange- ment have still to be worked out.” The matter will be discussed further today when Central Bank Governor Patrick Hono- han meets with his colleagues on the governing council of the ECB. But an ECB agreement on the €3.1bn payment method would give the Government significant breathing space ahead of the ref- erendum on the fiscal compact treaty. Sinn Féin last night described as a “blackmail clause” the con- dition in the treaty that prevents access to the EU’s future bailout fund for those countries which have not ratified it. But Mr Noonan said it was “entirely logical and reasonable” that a country receiving support from its partners under the bailout fund would be “prepared to run sensible budgetary policies” as laid down in the treaty. NEWS: 4 by Shaun Connolly Political Correspondent The scale of the mass boycott of the household tax left Government efforts to impose the levy branded “chaotic” as ministers ruled out extending the deadline date to register. Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, who came under opposition fire for adding to public confusion about how the €100 charge can be paid, insisted the Mar 31 cut-off point would remain in stone. Despite intense Dáil anger over the “chaotic” way the flashpoint tax has been brought in, ministers refused to acknowledge the public backlash. Labour TDs are furious, saying Fine Gael blocked failure to pay cases and ministers were set to make one million citizens “law- breakers”. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the Coalition was divided as he con- demned the “confusion” in Government over the charge after he said Social Protection Minister Joan Burton had called for a wider range of ways to pay to be brought in. Mr Martin moved to pin the blame on what he called the “shambolic” introduc- tion of the tax on Mr Hogan, saying people were being bullied by “Big Phil”. Ms Burton said she was confident of a surge in regis- trations over the next 10 days due to the publicity the subject was now getting. NEWS: 4 Gilmore comes under fire for public confusion over household tax payment moves to extend the regis- tration deadline under cover of rolling out the payment to post office counters, with intense resentment focused on Environment Minister Phil Hogan. Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doher- ty warned that the fact that fewer than 20% of eligible households — 300,172 out of some 1.6m — had so far registered meant the courts would be swamped with hundreds of thousands of Eamon Gilmore: Said the Mar 31 deadline remains. Coffins are seen on the stage during a memorial service at the Soeverein Arena in Lommel, Belgium, yesterday. Mourners and family members attended a memorial service to honour the victims of a bus crash in the Swiss Alps which killed 22 children and six adults. SEE: Page 10 Picture: AP Photo/Yorick Jansens Smoke deaths A report warns if trends continue, one billion people will die from tobacco use and exposure this century — one every 6 seconds. P7 NEWS French police raid home of Jewish school gunman Three explosions were heard last night as French police began their assault on the home of the gunman want- ed for shooting seven people dead. Mohammed Merah, who killed three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers, had said he would turn himself in at night “to be more discreet”. However, after authorities turned off street lights surrounding his Toulouse apartment, three loud explosions were heard out- side Merah’s flat, suggesting the raid on the ground-floor dwelling had begun. Toulouse’s deputy mayor confirmed that the assault on the flat has begun. Three police were wounded as they tried to ar- rest the 24-year-old French- man of Algerian descent during a raid about 3am yes- terday. Prosecutors have said Merah was a self-taught radical Salafi who had been to Afghanistan and had trained in the Pakistani mil- itant stronghold, Waziristan. Claude Gueant, France’s interior minister, said Merah appeared to have acted alone, but also claimed to authorities that he met al-Qaida “chiefs” while in Pakistan last year. WORLD: 11 Go to www.tickles.ie SIGN UP TODAY ��� �� ��� ��� ����� �� �������������� SAVE 50% CORK 2 Driving Lessons or 2 Hour Pre Test at John Horgan’s School of Motoring SOUTH EAST 3 Yoga Tune up Classes at Yoga for Well Being Waterford €35 SAVE 50% €15 �� ��� ���� �� ���� ��� ���� �������� ���� ����� ���� ������ ��� ��������� ���� ���� ���� ����� �� ���� ��� ������������ ������� �� ��� ��� ���������� ����� ��� ��� �������� ����� ��� �������� ���� ����� ���� �������� �� ���� �� ����� ���� �� ������ ���� ���� ��� ������ ���������� ���� ��� ��� ������������������� ���� �� �� �� ��� ���������� �������� ������� ��������� ����� ��� ���������� ����� � ������ ���������� ��� ��������� ��������� �������� ��� �������� ������ ��� ��� ��� ��������� �� ������� ����� �� ����� �� ���� �������� ��� �� ��������� ������ ����� ������ ������ �� ��������� �� ��� ������� ���� �� �������� INSIDE: SUPPLEMENT SPORT: 21 BEEFING UP OUR EXPORTS CITY KEEP DREAM ALIVE FEATURES: 15 HUNGER FOR A NEW HEROINE
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WORLD:11 CoffinsareseenonthestageduringamemorialserviceattheSoevereinArenainLommel,Belgium,yesterday.Mournersandfamilymembersattendedamemorialservice tohonourthevictimsofabuscrashintheSwissAlpswhichkilled22childrenandsixadults.SEE:Page10 NEWS:4 NEWS:4 SAVE50% SOUTHEAST BUSINESS:17 Thursday,March22,2012 Goto www.tickles.ie ������� ������� FEATURES:15FEATURES:15 EamonGilmore:Saidthe Mar31deadlineremains. 3Yoga Tuneup Classesat YogaforWell BeingWaterford XX1-V1
Transcript of irishexaminermar22
TERAPROOF:User:fredkenneallyDate:21/03/2012Time:23:06:53Edition:22/03/2012ExaminerLiveXX2203Page: 1Zone:XX1
22.03.12IRISH EXAMINER
Recommended retailprice in Ireland €1.90
XX1 - V1
Thursday, March 22, 2012 www.irishexaminer.com No. 58,996 €1.90
INDEXSUDOKU..................... 2FEATURES................ 15SPORT .................21-29ADVERTS ................. 30TV...................... 31&32DEATHS ................... 33
■ Consumers urged to shop aroundas fees may hit 60% of customersby Vincent Ryan
The era of free banking isdead — the head of theConsumers’ Association ofIreland, Dermott Jewell hassaid after AIB announced araft of new charges.Consumer groups have
also advised customers toshop around for a betterdeal.From May 28, AIB will
begin charging customers— who do not maintain aminimum of €2,500 intheir current accounts —transaction fees andmaintenance charges.The charges include:
■ 20c for every debit cardtransaction;■ 30c for every paper andstaff-assisted transactionincluding cheques, counterwithdrawals and lodge-ments, and staff-assistedtransactions at any AIBbranch or in the post office;■ 30c for withdrawing cashat the counter;■ 20c for every cashwithdrawal from ATM’swith AIB banklink cards andAIB debit cards.AIB will also be adding a
€4.50 per financial quarter,or €18 a year charge on topof transaction fees.Bank of Ireland require
customers to maintain aminimum of €3,000 intheir account or lodge atleast €3,000 and make ninepayments using banking 365during the quarter to avoidfees. If a customer is subjectto fees, these can either bepaid at 28c per transactionor a flat fee of €11.40 perquarter for 90 transactions.The withdrawal of free
banking facilities at AIB isan effort to turn the State-owned bank into a viablebusiness again, according tothe director of personal andbusiness banking at AIB,Bernard Byrne.“Free banking offerings
across the industry havechanged significantly inrecent times,” he said.
“While this was a difficultdecision to make, nonethe-less it is a necessary one ifwe are to continue to createthe conditions in which wecan become a strong and vi-able entity again.”The new charges are ex-
pected to hit as many as 60%of the bank’s customers.AIB Advantage (Over
60s), Student Accounts andGraduate Accounts will notbe subject to the charges.“The era of free banking
is all but dead, as far as I amaware, Ulster Bank are nowthe only bank offering freebanking. Consumers needto see what is available todispel the illusion of compe-tition that exists in Irishbanking,” said DermottJewell of the Consumers’Association of Ireland.The introduction of fees
and charges has led the chiefexecutive of the NationalConsumer Agency, AnnFitzgerald, to call on con-sumers to consider movingto rival banks.“AIB current account
customers who met theprevious criteria for freebanking should look at theirstatements, assess what theirfees would have been, andwork out whether it makessense for them to switch.”She said maintaining a
balance of €2,500 in anaccount which does not payinterest is the equivalent ofpaying €98 a year.“In addition, with no
interest paid on creditbalances, this means thatconsumers are losing out onup to €98 a year in interestthat they could earn if thismoney was on deposit, de-pending on the type of de-posit account chosen. Manyconsumers will be unable tomeet this condition unlessthey move money from asavings account into theircurrent account, therebylosing out on the interestthey would earn,” she said.
BUSINESS: 17
AIBchargesend ‘eraof freebanking’
Mourners grieve for victims of Alpine bus crash
Noonan hopes to settle €3.1bn Anglo payout with bondby Paul O’Brien
Political Editor
Government hopes have risenthat it can avoid having to forkout €3.1bn in cash to Anglo atthe end of the month.Finance Minister MichaelNoonan last night signalled thatthe Coalition was on the vergeof a breakthrough in its ongoingnegotiations with the troika ofECB, EU and IMF.With the Mar 31 repaymentdate looming, Mr Noonan saidhis hope was to settle the€3.1bn due by way of a Govern-ment bond — essentially an IOU— rather than cash.While the money would still
be owed, payment would bedeferred until a later date.This would give the Govern-ment time to conclude the nego-tiations with the troika on theoverall cost of the Anglo-IrishNationwide bailout.The bailout of the twofinancial institutions, nowmerged and known as the IrishBank Resolution Corp, cost€30.6bn.The Government funded thisthrough a promissory notesystem — also a form of IOU.The promissory notes, alongwith interest totalling €16.8bn,are due to be paid off over a20-year period, meaning thetotal cost of the bailout will be
€47.4bn unless the troika agreesto a cheaper alternative.The €3.1bn due on Mar 31represented the portion of the€47.4bn meant for repaymentthis year.Government hopes of defer-ring the cash payment appearedto be dashed earlier this monthwhen European Commissionvice-president Olli Rehn statedbluntly that he expected Irelandto meet its commitments.But last night, Mr Noonantold the Dáil there had been“developments” on the issueearlier in the day.He said: “The discussions withthe European authorities on thegeneral issue continue, but we
are now negotiating with the EUauthorities, and principally withthe ECB, on the basis that the€3.06bn cash instalment duefrom the minister to IBRC onMar 31, 2012, under the termsof the IBRC promissory notecould be settled by the deliveryof a long-term Irish Governmentbond. The details of the arrange-ment have still to be workedout.”The matter will be discussedfurther today when CentralBank Governor Patrick Hono-han meets with his colleagues onthe governing council of theECB.But an ECB agreement on the
€3.1bn payment method would
give the Government significantbreathing space ahead of the ref-erendum on the fiscal compacttreaty.Sinn Féin last night describedas a “blackmail clause” the con-dition in the treaty that preventsaccess to the EU’s future bailoutfund for those countries whichhave not ratified it.But Mr Noonan said it was“entirely logical and reasonable”that a country receiving supportfrom its partners under thebailout fund would be “preparedto run sensible budgetarypolicies” as laid down in thetreaty.
NEWS: 4
by Shaun ConnollyPoliticalCorrespondent
The scale of the massboycott of the householdtax left Government effortsto impose the levy branded“chaotic” as ministers ruledout extending the deadlinedate to register.Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore,
who came under oppositionfire for adding to publicconfusion about how the€100 charge can be paid,insisted the Mar 31 cut-offpoint would remain instone.Despite intense Dáil anger
over the “chaotic” way theflashpoint tax has beenbrought in, ministers refusedto acknowledge the publicbacklash.Labour TDs are furious,
saying Fine Gael blocked
failure to pay cases andministers were set to makeone million citizens “law-breakers”.Fianna Fáil leader Micheál
Martin said the Coalitionwas divided as he con-demned the “confusion” inGovernment over thecharge after he said SocialProtection Minister JoanBurton had called for awider range of ways to payto be brought in.Mr Martin moved to pin
the blame on what he calledthe “shambolic” introduc-tion of the tax on MrHogan, saying people werebeing bullied by “Big Phil”.Ms Burton said she was
confident of a surge in regis-trations over the next 10days due to the publicity thesubject was now getting.
NEWS: 4
Gilmore comes under fire for publicconfusion over household tax payment
moves to extend the regis-tration deadline under coverof rolling out the paymentto post office counters, withintense resentment focusedon Environment MinisterPhil Hogan.Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doher-
ty warned that the fact thatfewer than 20% of eligiblehouseholds — 300,172 outof some 1.6m — had so farregistered meant the courtswould be swamped withhundreds of thousands of
Eamon Gilmore: Said theMar 31 deadline remains.
Coffins are seen on the stage during a memorial service at the Soeverein Arena in Lommel, Belgium, yesterday. Mourners and family members attended a memorial serviceto honour the victims of a bus crash in the Swiss Alps which killed 22 children and six adults. SEE: Page 10 Picture: AP Photo/Yorick Jansens
Smoke deathsA report warns if trendscontinue, one billion peoplewill die from tobacco useand exposure this century— one every 6 seconds. P7
NEWS French police raid home of Jewish school gunmanThree explosions were heardlast night as French policebegan their assault on thehome of the gunman want-ed for shooting seven peopledead.Mohammed Merah, who
killed three Jewishschoolchildren, a rabbi andthree paratroopers, had saidhe would turn himself in atnight “to be more discreet”.However, after authorities
turned off street lights
surrounding his Toulouseapartment, three loudexplosions were heard out-side Merah’s flat, suggestingthe raid on the ground-floordwelling had begun.Toulouse’s deputy mayor
confirmed that the assaulton the flat has begun.Three police were
wounded as they tried to ar-rest the 24-year-old French-man of Algerian descentduring a raid about 3am yes-terday.Prosecutors have said
Merah was a self-taughtradical Salafi who had beento Afghanistan and hadtrained in the Pakistani mil-
itant stronghold, Waziristan.Claude Gueant, France’s
interior minister, said Merahappeared to have actedalone, but also claimed toauthorities that he metal-Qaida “chiefs” while inPakistan last year.
WORLD: 11
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