Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Staff are under incredible pressure and they had been anyway because of the reduced headcount in retail banks. They are under tremendous pressure, which I know about from speaking to banking staff in my constituency, and that is objectively presented through the survey material and responses to the Ireland Thinks research, which is important to put on the record. Is Mr. O'Connell in any way reassured by what he heard from the retail banks last week? There seem to be some mixed messages. I put a question to them about the reduced hours of opening and the reduced headcounts in call centres and they responded in a convoluted way and I am not sure they answered the question as comprehensively as I would like. The FSU seems to be at odds with the banks, which are claiming they have not reduced their headcounts. They say they have changed hours to some degree and that those who are leaving the call centres are moving up in the banks. Mr. O'Connell would still agree that call centres need to properly staffed and that they need additional numbers to manage this process. Has the FSU put a number to all of the receiving banks for the staff they ought to hire over the coming period?