Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

AIB might be what people consider to be the bank of the moment but to me it should be PIB - popped up Irish bank. The level of damage that has been done to the brand in rural areas, where it has closed branches, is incredible. It has not told people why it has had to do this. As someone with some banking experience, if one looks at some of those bank branches as stand-alone entities, they would be profitable.

None of them provided moneys for apartment blocks in Ballsbridge, contracts for difference or anything else like that. They were involved in agricultural loans, simple things like car finance and some mortgages. Can the witnesses explain to the people of Ireland why AIB closed those banks? Will they do anything to redress the imbalance that exists in rural Ireland now? The bank was the fulcrum of society. Shops, petrol stations and small retailers will feel the effects of this move. I would like to hear the witnesses' socioeconomic analysis of what this is all about.