Bank branch closures in rural Ireland
Deputy Danny Healy-Rae warned that Bank of Ireland planned major branch closures and asked whether the Taoiseach would allow it to proceed again at rural communities’ expense. The Taoiseach responded that the Government was working on community-hub models and that closures were ultimately matters for the company.
The people in rural Ireland are devastated with this news today. What is the Taoiseach going to say to Bank of Ireland, which is proposing to close one in every four bank branches in the country? Given the last Government and this Government supported this bank, is the Taoiseach going to allow it to do this again to the people in rural Ireland? It is the people in rural Ireland who will be hit first.
Comment on this
The Minister of State, Deputy Ring, put together the post office hub working group last year to identify potential models under which post offices could act as community hubs, particularly in rural areas. That considered a number of options, for example, shared value post offices, which would see local post offices act as multi-purpose bases for the community. That report will be brought to Government shortly by the Minister of State. The perception that this is some sort of secret Government plan is far from the truth.