Mr. John O'Connell:

This is the very reason why we are calling for a forum on the future of banking. It is so we can have a debate on what type of banking model we want. Regulation and legislation should follow where the debate takes us. If we went to any community and asked whether it wanted to lose a service, we know what the answer would be. We need to have a mature and broader debate. Digitisation is here. Its impact is being felt. How can we end up with the best of both worlds in terms of our banking system where we have all the upsides of digitisation but do not lose any of the good aspects of local branch banking that exist? We are on that cusp. We see where Ulster Bank is. Other banks have made or have indicated decisions. We think it is an opportune time to have an open debate with all the key stakeholders at the table to outline their vision of banking for the next ten years. This would be a reasonable step. Our big concern is that at the end of Covid, people ask what happened to our banking system, why it changed so rapidly and how we missed it. There is a missed opportunity for Ulster Bank today but this committee and the Houses of the Oireachtas have an opportunity to endorse such a forum. We spoke to the Minister about it yesterday in terms of outlining where we want banking to go in order that we do not end up being told that a service or a certain type of banking model is no longer available. Who decided that? We must have an input into this.