Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the early 2000s, I was speaking in the Seanad when a new bank was opening up. I felt there were too many banks in Ireland at that time. In my home town of Castlebar, with a population of 15,000, there were 14 places one could get money. We had AIB, Ulster Bank, Bank of Ireland, Irish Nationwide, EBS, First Active, credit unions, National Irish Bank, ACC Bank and others, but now we have many fewer. The witnesses are suggesting eight individual banks in the country in various regions. I come from a county with a population of 130,000 and there would be one bank between Mayo and Galway, which has a population of 170,000. How would it work out on the ground? There would probably be an office in Galway city, but parts of Mayo are more than 100 miles away.