The Irish Bankers Federation has defended bank charges, saying the findings of an EU survey were "unrepresentative" and "misleading". The report, conducted by the consumer affairs directorate of the Commission in the 11 member-states of the euro zone found that Irish bank charges for credit transfers were four times higher than the European average.

Its research established that the cost of a credit transfer from Ireland was €100 compared with an average cost of €25.61 in the EU.

In a statement yesterday, IBF president Mr Jim Bardon said the charges applied by Irish banks for cross-border euro payments were "competitive" and offered "value for money". The IBF says that Irish banks compare favourably in the report with other EU banks except on this one issue. It noted that Irish banks have the lowest charges for use of their ATM cards, do not impose charges for use of their payment cards in the euro zone and stressed that the average cost of banknote exchange for euro participating currencies in Irish bureau de change is less than the EU average.

The directorate, headed by the Irish commissioner, Mr David Byrne, is understood to be involved in talks with the Internal Market Commissioner, Mr Frits Bolkestein, about possible legal action. Mr Byrne said he was very surprised by the high level of charges on credit transfers in euros, particularly as there was no currency risk in the euro zone.