The decision by Bank of Ireland to impose a range of additional charges for customers with low usage of their accounts represents another turn of the screw for hard pressed families.

What is particularly objectionable about these charges is that they are structured in such a way as to impact most severely on the poorest – those with the lowest incomes, the lowest balances and the fewest payments.

A bank account is an essential in modern life to make and receive payments, but it is understandable that those with the lowest incomes,will require the lowest usage and have the lowest number of transactions. Why should these now be singled out for extra penalties?

At the time of the announcement of the original bank recapitalisation in December 2008 the government told us that the banks had given a commitment to ‘broaden the provision of basic or introductory bank accounts and will promote these accounts to socio-economic groups where the holding of bank accounts is less prevalent…….’ Of course nothing has been heard of this commitment since, but the introduction of this range of charges by Bank of Ireland runs totally contrary to the undertaken given.

The Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, should say whether he regards these charges to be consistent with the commitments given and he should also ask the banks to state what steps they have taken to deal with financial exclusion and to facilitate the provision of basic accounts.