AIB must appear before Finance Committee over unacceptable cashless branches – Ring

Management at AIB must appear before the Finance Committee next week over its callous decision to remove cash facilities at 70 of its 170 branches, according to Fine Gael TD Michael Ring.

Deputy Ring said: “This latest move by AIB to cease cash facilities at 70 branches, the majority of which are in rural communities like my own, flies in the face of basic decency and has rightly generated fury amongst people in the affected counties.

“There are many vulnerable customers in rural areas who may not have the digital skills to conduct their banking affairs online, as well as businesses who may to prefer to deal in cash.

“In my own county, branches in Ballinrobe and Claremorris will be removing cash, ATM and cheque services, and this comes on top of other bank closures that have occurred in recent years.

“What the banking big wigs fail to realise when they are making these short-sighted decisions is the detrimental impact they have on rural people, who now face long journeys to get to a branch if they wish to access cash services.

“I now want AIB to come before the Oireachtas Finance Committee and explain the rationale behind this move, and also what their future plans are and if they intend to close or remove services at more branches.

“I also want to see Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and the other service providers come before the Committee for a meeting before the Bank Holiday next week to outline their intentions when it comes to any further changes to branch services.

“These banks must not forget that they were bailed out to the tune of €42 billion[i] by the taxpayer to prevent a collapse of the sector and mass job losses.

“They owe a debt of gratitude to the citizens of Ireland, yet are treating them with utter disdain with the removal of services that communities depend upon.  Both the Government and Central Bank must intervene here on behalf of the Irish people to ensure their interests are protected.

“Older people and those who do not have the digital skills their younger counterparts may have must not be left behind as businesses and banks move towards a cashless economy,” Deputy Ring concluded.