Mr. Robert Gallagher:

So, Deputy ...a couple of comments, if I may. The first is ''Journey to One'' was predominantly a staff engagement programme. So we utilised a process emanating from the States called ... a teaching programme where people engaged about leadership and how they shared and worked together. And a part of it was this page and the outputs from this page, but a lot of the programme was around staff engagement ... around post ... some very, very tough integration matters we had ... how would we encourage and motivate and lift people's spirits? That was the context. I will answer your specific question but that was the context to it.

The other thing I will say, Deputy ... in ... on this topic is there is no question that Ulster Bank, until the ownership of RBS, had a real desire to compete with AIB and Bank of Ireland in a much more substantial way. And it was one of the reasons I joined the organisation. And if you think about what Ulster Bank is on the Republic of Ireland ... in ... for instance, in Donegal, Ulster Bank's market share might be 20%, whereas in Cork and Kerry it might be 2%. So the belief that Ulster Bank could increase its market share, particularly in the southern part of the country, was real and meaningful and was evidenced by the investment which Ulster Bank was making around the country.

So, if you look at the business centres and branches which were opened by Ulster Bank in that period in places like Carrigaline, in Killarney, in Tralee, in Limerick ... there was a material expansion of the physical premises on the island of Ireland by Ulster Bank. If you compound that with the material investment in technology ... just to provide services to retail customers and business customers ... and you add to that the material expansion of the ATM network of Ulster Bank ... some of which was reflected in these pages. There was a very substantial increase in the capability of Ulster Bank to provide services to customers around the island which never existed before in its 175 years on the island and in the Republic of Ireland.