The amount of money spent by Irish people using their credit cards is set to jump to a new high of €7.6bn, according to new figures from the main banks.

BANKS will pay an extra €2 million towards the cost of garda and army escorts for moving cash next year, but the taxpayer continues to foot the bulk of the bill.

NOT for the first time, the beleaguered customers of Irish banks are being told by the country’s financial institutions they are getting a good deal compared with their European counterparts.