Mr. Gavin Kelly:

It is a good point in the context of trying to get the balance right as we see customer preference move more to online and telephone banking with that local expertise and knowledge. That is the reason, as Ms McDonagh said, we made a move a few years ago to move all our advisers out and about to meet customers and train them up in specific areas of expertise such as agri-advisers or other business or mortgage advisers. For example, our agri-advisers spend quite a bit of time on farms advising customers. I can give the Deputy a specific example of the way behaviours are changing and how we can support our customers. I met a customer at the National Ploughing Championships a few years ago who wanted to make a branch appointment for a loan application. I was able to put him in touch with our contact centre in Kilkenny where he was able to apply for the loan and by the time he got back home from the National Ploughing Championships in Offaly he had the money in his account. That is what is happening. Some 80% of applications are being made over the phone or over the Internet. We have developed a skills set and expertise in Kilkenny and in Dublin where we have our contact centres. Our staff in those centres are dealing with multiple applications day in, day out and become deep experts on lending applications for certain sectors. That is then augmented by support on the ground. We are out in communities. We still have business and other advisers who meet customers at their premises. Most of the meetings that happen face to face, which is the minority of our meetings, take place on business premises. We have what we believe is the right balance. The key word as we move forward with these changes is "balance". We have the balance between the local knowledge and the local boots on the ground, to use that phrase, supported by people based in contact centres with deeper expertise and good Internet applications and service. We seek to get that balance right, although it is not always the case in that we might overdo it in one channel or the other. We are striving to adapt to customers' needs and behaviours to get that balance between that local approach and the central support.