Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. O'Connell for his opening remarks and for the statement he provided to the committee prior to this engagement. This was a devastating blow for staff. As somebody who worked in the banking sector before taking on this role, I understand that it is a very worrying time for people who work in banking. I hear what Mr. O'Connell is saying in that regard. I have been contacted by a number of people who work in Ulster Bank and the big concern they have raised with me is that there will be compulsory redundancies rather than voluntary redundancies. I would be interested to hear if this is also the sort of feedback the FSU is getting from its members. Mr. O'Connell mentioned this issue in his opening statement but I would like to know if it is a concern that is coming through from the union's members.

Another issue Mr. O'Connell has mentioned is that this has been worrying staff for a number of months. He was before this committee previously and we had that level of engagement but the reality is that this has had a great impact on staff mental health. Is that something Mr. O'Connell has also come across? What impact has the lack of engagement prior to this announcement had on the staff? I am thinking of all of the staff and all of the FSU's members because it is a very difficult time. As Mr. O'Connell said, it is a difficult time for people working in banking.