Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support Deputy Murphy in what he has said. He used the word "gentle". It is a case of being gentle with a sledgehammer. The physical actions that banks have taken for the reorganisation of the floor-space of financial institutions, where they have shrunk counter-space from in excess of eight counter-spaces down to two and will shut services at 3 p.m., hurt small businesspeople as well as elderly people. They are used to dealing in a physical manner with their banks. The banks are unashamed in that. I remember being in a meeting with Mr. David Duffy in his time at AIB, five years ago, when I was still a councillor. He was open about it with regard to branch closure and also the fact that chequebooks were redundant. He said they were a thing of the past and the bank would get rid of them. They are unashamed in their manner. Small businesspeople are affected as well as elderly people. That is spinning out to the utility companies in this country, which will force customers down direct debit routes. That is having a knock-on impact on our post office services and people physically using the services in town centres. It is a bigger spectrum than just financial services and the issue of interaction. It has a wider implication for town centre usage as well. Those debates emanate from there.