Ms Francesca McDonagh:

I shall respond to the Senator's queries. On my first day one of the first things I did was visit the oldest and newest branches in the network located at College Green and Grand Canal Square, which has a different format. I did so because I recognise that both formats are equally applicable to different types of customers and some customers will use both for different things. The role of the branch is incredibly important.

As Mr. Mason has said, the behaviour and needs of our customers are evolving and we need to evolve and match them. Last week, I spoke to customers in Galway and learned of their frustrations. They want to have more personal time and do not want to queue to use a machine. Customer feedback is very important to us and we incorporate it into our schemes. We will always have people in every single branch in our network. We have the largest footprint of any bank in Ireland. Every single branch has cash but some are more focused towards a self-service model because that is where we have seen the footprint. We do not underestimate the importance of a relationship and personal service, whether it is in our branches or contact centres. Increasingly, whether it is the SME or agricultural sector, some customers want to have an out-of-hours conversation with a specialist adviser. We have found that model to be highly relevant for the modern age.

We are opening new branches. I joined the team at a new work space located on Camden Street. We have also recently opened a new branch in Cherrywood.

In response to the question on Apple Pay, as part of the ongoing technological transformation, we are always developing new alternatives in order for our customers to make payment. It is a priority. It is something we are working on.