Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

That is fine. I thank the witnesses for coming in to discuss this matter with the committee today. We have heard from the representatives of the workers. I put on the record that I think the way workers have been treated is outrageous. They were not engaged with until the last moment and were kept in the dark. We were told some 40 workers are fighting for their jobs and against compulsory redundancy. Will the witnesses enlighten the committee about the status of those workers and perhaps give a commitment that there will be no compulsory redundancies in their case?

Regarding the withdrawal of NatWest Bank from the Irish market, in the past decade the bank sunk a great deal of money into bad loans and capital write-offs and losses and invested in technology and corporate restructuring. Why was a decision made to withdraw now? Is it a case of NatWest Bank believing there will be future losses? Are the prevailing interest rates and current financial structure of the market prohibitive for continued engagement? Has the Irish Government worked with the bank in any way to try to provide some level of structure to make continued engagement in the Irish market possible?

We have heard from the representatives of the workers regarding the virtual wholesale reduction of the physical presence of Ulster Bank in the State, especially branches in regional and rural areas. Was that an element of the decision made by the bank? What is likely to be the future of such physical engagement with rural and regional Ireland, and elsewhere as well? I would appreciate it if those questions could be answered first.