Mr. Stephen Mason:

We are trying to blend new technology and digital. While we have seen customers change the way they are banking, with our traditional banking methods we have not closed branches. As members will know, we have keep our branches open. We have 250 branches across the country, which has been the case for ten years. We are trying to do both. As many as 79% of our customers are digitally active. We have seen a consistent change with more people becoming digitally active. On 21 December, we had 900,000 individual log-ons to our sites via the mobile app, the Bank of Ireland 365 online site or our business online site. Our customers are changing the way they bank. Last December, our customers wrote 16% fewer cheques than they wrote the previous December and our customers used contactless technology 66% more than they did the previous December. We have seen significant changes.

I was disappointed to hear the Senator say that when a person goes into a branch there is no-one there to meet him or her. We have tried to move people from behind the counter to front of house. We are trying to make our branches business development hubs. It is disappointing to hear him say that people did not see a staff member when they went into a branch. That is not our objective. We have kept our branches open for a very specific purpose. We want them to be business development hubs and communities and to help local communities to thrive.