Ms Francesca McDonagh:

We have not closed branches just because of a change in behaviour during the pandemic. This has been a seismic shift over a number of years. The digital dawn is in the rear view mirror in terms of people changing their behaviours. We have not entered into any of those decisions lightly. We appreciate and recognise the impact which is why we have the partnership with An Post as a very key alternative for all customers. The coverage, access and opening hours are longer than any of the 88 branches we are closing.

In terms of the Deputy's question on whether I can make a commitment that we will guarantee that we will never close another branch again, he will understand that I cannot. I am not looking to change our physical footprint on a regular basis. This is a very big decision. It is the first major change that we have made to Bank of Ireland's network in a decade but for me to sit here as a retail bank CEO and guarantee no changes forevermore is not possible or realistic. It would not be authentic of me to make that sort of statement. We will always look to adapt our services to customers' preferences and demands but the branch network changes we have announced, and they are not closing until September at the earliest, are appropriate as we look to the future of the Irish banking sector.