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

The witness stated that AIB is a community bank and is committed to local businesses. Dr. Hunt mentioned earlier the move away from bricks and mortar. I am aware that Dr Hunt has said he cannot confirm plans with regard to the North, but given the plans that are there and the assertion that AIB is committed to the community, if there were wide scale closures across all jurisdictions surely that would be a move away. A lot of the conversations that happen around the closures of banks are around the impact it has on local communities and local people. I represent Galway city and the area of Connemara, which is an extremely rural area. There is a local knowledge when there are bricks and mortar banks. In a lot of the current conversations on the issue it is said that the retail banks move away from the community is based on the decreased use of cash and the increased use of online transactions, reductions in footfall at branches, and customers transitioning to new ways of banking. Yet, when we talk to the customers, and I have spoken to people who are affected by this, they tell us that in many senses they are often forced into these new ways of banking since there are no staff only machines. The customers are telling us that the bank is pushing the agenda and trend to online banking because it suits as the cheaper option. Will Dr. Hunt give his view on this?